Complicated Circumstances *AU CC* complete

[Pegleg]

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Part 61

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“Yeah, we got in okay. How are you and Carolyn doing?”

Maria let out a slight laugh and shook her head. “Michael, you’ve only been gone for what…five hours?!” Yet as she said this she couldn’t help but feel that same sense of loss she was sure made him call the minute he’d gotten home.

“Yes, but I don’t care. I miss you already. I miss Carolyn and watching you holding her, and just being a part of everything. It almost makes me feel like I’m back at square one where I was all winter and spring, not knowing what was happening to you, and it scares me.”

“I never meant to hurt you by doing that.”

“It’s alright Maria, I know that. And I’m not upset about it. I just wish you could be here with me now.”

“It’s only a couple weeks. And you’ll be starting classes anyways, so the time will just fly by.”

“Not without you.” His voice was so faint it tore at Maria’s heart and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes and couldn’t do anything to stop them. She didn’t want to. Over the few months they had together with their daughter she’d come to see a whole other side of Michael. Not just the caring brother or friend, but the adoring, affectionate father, and sweet, loving boyfriend.

“I miss you too,” she sniffled into the phone, wiping a hand across her eyes as she walked into the nursery just needing to see their daughter.

“Is Carolyn sleeping?”

“No, she’s just lying in her crib right now. She’s been sleeping pretty much since we got back from the airport. I put her right down and she’s been out since. Not to mention she was sleeping in the car. Do you want to say hi to her?”

Michael was surprised for a minute, but then nothing else would make him happier. Maybe he could deal with the separation just by talking on the phone and staying in contact with them.

“Can I?”

“Of course,” Maria smiled, he just sounded so cute all lost and flustered over the phone. “Here you go.” She lifted the receiver into the crib and near Carolyn’s ear so she could hear her daddy’s sweet voice.

“Hello sweetheart! I miss you. You be a good girl for mommy while daddy’s gone, okay? We’ll be together again soon precious, I promise.”

Maria watched her daughter squirm around and make a few gurgling noises as she brought the phone back to her own ear. “Whatever you said, you definitely got her attention.”

“I just told her to take good care of her mommy for me.”

“I’m a big girl; I can take care of myself, thank you.”

“I know, but you shouldn’t always have to.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyle walked out of his room and looked around the hall. Damn this place was big. Sure he’d known when Isabel had offered to let him stay at the mansion that it was big…just not this big. Not to say that he didn’t like it, cause he did. His room was so large there was more than enough space for everything he had with him.

“So, Michael deserted you, huh?” Courtney asked as she came walking down the hall. Isabel wasn’t back from New Mexico yet so she got to play hostess, it was kind of exciting!

“It’s okay. He just needed to call Ria, make sure she knew we got in okay and everything.”

“That’s so cute,” she sighed. “Well, how do you like the place?”

“It’s great. I can’t thank you guys enough for letting me stay here. I must say that bed will be ten times more comfortable than the couch in Liz and Tess’s apartment.”

“It’s no problem. I mean, I just kinda came to live here with them too…there’s more than enough space. Besides, Rosie makes the best food, so make sure you’re here to eat at least some meals, k?”

“Free food? Hey, I’m not gonna pass that up! I am a growing boy after all.”

“Oh please…” Courtney rolled her eyes. “All guys say that no matter how old they are.” Then she thought about it for a minute. “But, well I suppose it’s true. I mean once you stop growing taller you just start growing wider,” she laughed at the expression of disbelief on Kyle’s face.

“I thought you were the nice one!”

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist. But I really am the nice one. Come on, lets go downstairs and I’ll show you all the cool toys we have.”

“Toys? Toys are good!” Courtney just laughed and let him follow her down the stairs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alex!” everyone went silent as he walked in the room with Isabel on one side and Julia on the other. Liz was the first one on her feet and hurrying over to give him a hug. “Are you alright? We were so worried about you.”

“Thanks guys,” Alex smiled as he gave Liz a slight hug, careful not to hurt his ribs any more than was necessary. It had been a long drive with frequent stops as Julia and Isabel traded off driving duties in his new car all the way back from New Mexico. All he wanted to do right now was relax.

“Hey Max, can you move so Alex can sit in that chair? It’s the most comfortable to lay back in and he’s still got bruised ribs,” Isabel asked as sweetly as possible.

“Sure, no problem.” Max quickly got up and joined Liz and Courtney on one of the sofa’s.

“I’m sorry man,” Alex started but Isabel wouldn’t let him finish.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re injured, now let me baby you,” she grinned with a slight squeeze of her hand to his leg once he’d sat down.

“So Alex, how’d you get back if you’re car was totaled?” Tess asked. They’d all been over just talking when Alex and Julia had come to drop off Isabel. Tess, Kyle, Liz, Max, Courtney, and Michael. School started in the morning so it was one last semi-late night since a few had early classes, but all that mattered was spending time with friends.

“Mom and dad,” Julia offered.

“They got me a new car,” Alex finished. “They’d been worrying about me driving the old one long distances for a while now, and so they felt better getting me a new one. But they’ll get paid back when all the insurance money comes through, it just takes so long.”

“But you’re okay and that’s all that matters.” Leaning down, Isabel placed a soft kiss on his lips, just a little peck to show how much she cared.

“I’m glad you’re okay Alex. You had my sister very scared there for a while,” Michael stood up. “Listen, before it gets too late I think I’m gonna go call Maria and say goodnight,” he headed for the door.

“Are things good? Is she coming out soon then?”

“Yeah, they moved up the date we could move in. So in two weeks we have a house.”

“I’m glad. Tell her I said hi and I can’t wait to see her again and meet Carolyn.”

“Sure, no problem Alex. You just feel better before classes start.”

“Well at least none of them are until one tomorrow, so I don’t have to be in any hurry.”

“That’s not fair,” Isabel pouted. “I have classes at nine everyday except Friday.”

“Life’s tough sweetie,” Alex smiled trying not to laugh cause he knew how much that could hurt.

“Well goodnight everyone,” Michael called as he walked toward the hall. In response he got a collective, “goodnight!”

“So Isabel,” Liz began, completely changing the subject. “Are you still wanting to throw a baby shower for Maria?”

“Yeah, completely. I think it’ll be fun. And it’s not fair that she didn’t get one before Carolyn was born. But at least now we know what she already has and what she might need.”

“Oh! I love showers, they’re sooo much fun,” Courtney gushed.

“And we can play all those silly games,” Tess giggled.

“And sorry guys, but it’s kinda a girl thing,” Liz said turning to Max who’s arms were wrapping around her waist.

“Well you might have a problem separating Michael from Maria once she gets here. He’s always either talking to her or writing to her, or moping about…” Max tried to explain.

“Well it’s normal to feel that way,” Courtney went into psych mode. “He missed the whole pregnancy, and no matter how sure he is that Maria and their daughter will be back here with him in a few weeks, there is still that fear in the back of his mind that reminds him of how she just left him with only a note.”

“Umm…you know what…I don’t think I’m gonna argue with you, you’re pulling that ‘I’m a psych major and this is my field so don’t even mess with me’ thing.” Everyone laughed as they drifted back to idle conversations.

Julia remained quiet as she stood leaning against the chair her brother was resting in. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of all this. She was sure she’d heard about some of these people, but she wasn’t really sure who was who, or any of that. Well Michael was the guy who’d left, and she knew that was Isabel’s brother. But that was pretty much it.

Isabel was laughing at her friends antics when she glanced at Julia and realized how out of place she must feel.

“Oh my god! I’m sorry, you’re probably completely lost right now Julia.”

“I’m sorry Jules. Let’s see…well you know Isabel, and her brother Michael’s the one who just left. That’s his best friend Max, and Max’s girlfriend Lizzie. I know I talked about Lizzie before. And then there’s Lizzie’s little sister Tess, and Tess’s boyfriend Kyle. Kyle’s also Maria’s step brother. I know I’ve told you about her too, and you’ll get a chance to meet her in a couple weeks when she comes back. And that of course is Courtney. It’s kinda funny cause she knew Maria before the rest of us…okay well not the rest of us cause Max and Michael and Isabel knew Courtney from up in LA. I didn’t miss anyone did I?” Alex took a moment to breathe from his long rambling speech, not even noticing everyone’s look of awe. “Everyone, this is my sister Julia.”

“Uh…hi everyone,” Julia managed to get out while still gaping at her brother. She hadn’t really taken in much of anything her brother had just said. But she had a feeling it would be okay because if they all really were good friends of Alex’s then she would certainly see them again. But there was one thing she was wondering… “So do all of you live here?” The house seemed big enough for it to be possible…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So is this going to be our tradition now?” Isabel asked as she sat down at the table with Alex across from her.

“I just thought maybe you’d like to have breakfast with me before it all starts again. Besides, I like taking you out.” Alex smiled up at his beautiful girlfriend, enjoying the faint blush blossoming across her cheeks.

“But technically didn’t I take you out? I mean, I was the one who picked you up since you aren’t supposed to drive for at least a week,” she mocked while reaching across the table to grasp his good hand in hers.

“Okay, then if you’re taking me out you get to pay.”

“Fine.”

“Izzie! You know I wouldn’t let you do that when I invited you.”

“But you just said…”

“Izzie…”

“Okay. Not that I’m complaining or anything. I’d never complain when a handsome guy like yourself offers me breakfast. Of course breakfast in bed would be better,” she smirked.

“Except currently I have another girl sleeping in my bed, so I don’t think that would work too well,” Alex reminded.

“You do realize that sounds really bad, right?”

“What me? I’d never say or do anything bad.”

“Sure, you just keep telling yourself that honey,” Isabel laughed.

“But it’s true. I mean, I wouldn’t want to frighten Jules…she doesn’t need that.”

“That would be horrible to walk in and find your brother with some girl. I think I would be scarred for life. That is just something that a sister does not need to see, or even know about.”

“Are you ready to order,” the waitress interrupted, putting an end to their banter session.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“First day of school and everyone always looks dead in the morning when they come in to get there coffee,” Tess mused as she stood behind the counter talking to Liz who had stopped in for a drink before heading off to her first class. Most of her classes were in the morning on purpose so that she would be able to devote the afternoons to working at Ingen.

“Yeah, well they were probably all having one last party before the blah-dom that is classes begins again,” Liz laughed as Tess handed her the drink she’d ordered. “Thanks. I’ll see you at home tonight cause I’m going to lunch with Max today before work.”

“Aww, how sweet. Well have fun. And don’t work too hard,” Tess waved as her sister walked out. With a sigh she went back to work, the thought of imminent classes lurking in her head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey sweetie. Can I come in?” Amy stood gently leaning against the doorframe to the nursery watching her daughter rock her own baby to sleep.

“Of course,” she whispered. “I just got her to sleep.” Amy came over to her side and took the sleeping child and placed her in the crib a couple feet away. When she turned back to Maria she had tears in her eyes.

“I’m gonna miss you so much sweetie.”

“Me too, mom. Me too!” Maria offered as she stood up to give her mother a big hug.

They stood like that for a while, just holding on to one another and reveling in the safety and love they felt there.

“Michael seems to be calling here an awful lot,” Amy smiled as she pulled away and led Maria quietly out of the room so they wouldn’t disturb the sleeping Carolyn.

Maria laughed softly, “Yeah. He really didn’t want to leave. He’s always asking how Carolyn is and we’ll just sit on the phone not even saying anything. I miss him too mom.”

“I can tell. It’s been in your eyes since you got home from the airport days ago.”

“How do you do that?”

“What?” Amy asked confused.

“Always know everything that’s going on.”

“I’m your mother. I’m supposed to know.”

“But…”

“Give it time sweetie. Carolyn’s only a baby. When she starts getting older, then you’ll start seeing it too. God, my baby’s so grown up!” she let a tear fall from her eye as she sat beside Maria on her bed.

“What am I going to do without you there all the time?”

“You’ll be fine. You’re a strong woman, Maria, and I believe in you.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, honey. That’s what I do.”

“But you never once questioned any of my decisions, you’ve been nothing but supportive, and that is something special. I love you mom.”

“I love you too baby.”

It was silent for a while as they just enjoyed each others company.

“So did you like your father?” Amy spoke softly. She’d known that Maria had gone to visit Steven weeks ago, but she hadn’t said anything, waiting to see if Maria would bring it up, but she hadn’t.

“You knew? Wait…never mind, of course you did. It was interesting. I met his wife and talked with her for a while because he wasn’t there. She seemed like a nice person, she was glad I’d come to visit. I didn’t meet my half-sisters though; he thought it might be a little early for that. He hadn’t mentioned me to them because he didn’t know if I’d ever show up. I didn’t tell him about Carolyn either. Why should I when he hasn’t been here at all? He doesn’t even know me hardly.”

“Are you going to see him again before you leave? To say goodbye maybe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe you could meet your sisters.”

“Maybe…”

“Sweetie, don’t feel like I’m trying to pressure you into anything, because I’m not. But I forgave your father a long time ago; there was nothing there anyway and I finally realized that.”

“I love you mom,” Maria sighed as she wrapped her arms tighter around her mother’s shoulders, wishing she’d never have to let go.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So we’re still going to do this baby shower for Maria, right?” Courtney asked as she munched on her curly fries.

“Of course. You know me, I love to plan everything!” Isabel smiled and she and Courtney both burst into laughter.

“You can say that again! Oh, hey, I never told you, but I met this guy.”

“Really? Details please,” Isabel prodded from her blond friend knowing she didn’t need to do much work, Courtney loved to share.

“Well I went to Dana’s birthday party in LA cause she’s always been my best friend for ever, and anyways…I met this guy there. He asked me to dance and we talked and danced all night. It was so much fun. I’ve never been that calm and just relaxed around a guy I just met before that I actually felt something for. It was nice. It turns out Dana was trying to introduce us anyway cause he’s a close friend of her boyfriend Josh. It’s kinda funny. But it’s perfect because he lives in San Diego too!” she finished finally allowing herself to take a breath of air.

“Wow…that’s some story Court!”

“Isn’t it?”

“Well you should definitely bring him to our back to school bash on Saturday. All day at our place, the guys will barbeque and we’ll swim and lay in the sun, it’ll be great.”

“Sounds good, I’ll tell him.”

“You’ll tell him, not ask him?” Isabel giggled.

“No, I’ll ask him. Gees, I’m not that demanding…well at least not yet, I mean we only just started dating!”

“You are bad girl,” Izzie shook her head with one last laugh. “But yeah, back to the shower. We need to find out what she has and what she needs. They’re going to be moving into a house of their own so I’m sure they won’t have everything. I can talk to Kyle and Michael…but they’re guys, I’m not sure how much they’re gonna be able to help with this one.”

“Well, we could try Liz, she’s her best friend.”

“I don’t know how often they talk, but I suppose that works.”

“Or if I see Ria online sometime soon I can try to get something out of her.”

“Just don’t make it too obvious; I do want this to be a surprise.”

“Izzie, this is Court you’re talking to. I’m the queen slyness!” More giggles erupted from their table drawing unnoticed stares from the people around them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“And this project I’m working on, it’s amazing just thinking that I’m a part of something that could change the world some day,” Liz babbled on as Max enjoyed the lighthearted smile of pleasure beaming across her face as she talked about work.

“That’s great. But I’ve known all along you could change the world. There’s just something special about you Elizabeth Parker.”

“Max!” she blushed. “But it’s so exciting. Anyway, I think Dr. Carter mentioned something about them looking for another lab assistant. You might want to try applying. Since they know you and how well you work, I’m sure they’d hire you over anyone else.”

“I don’t know Liz…”

“Just think about it. It seemed like the job meant a lot to you last year,” she reached across the table and wrapped his hand in her own trying to get him to look at her.

“But the better person got the job. And I don’t know…maybe I will. Now, what do you want to eat?” He complimented himself on the skillful change of subject as they drifted back to mindless chatter. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work there, but he wasn’t sure if working there with Liz would be a good idea. Would he really be able to pay attention to his experiments if she was there beside him all the time to distract him? And besides that, was it even what he wanted anymore?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So what do you think of the campus?” Alex asked as he continued across the courtyard.

“It’s nice. The campus isn’t that big…I swear UCSD is huge compared to this, but I’ll manage. And I like that café that Tess was working at. It must get busy though cause it’s the only one I saw.”

“Well there’s a few others around, but I always go to that one cause Lizzie and Maria worked there, and now Tess does.”

“I see. I hope I find as good of friends at college as you obviously have,” Julia smiled up at her big brother enjoying this time she got to spend with him. She really had missed him since he’d been gone away.

“You will, don’t worry. You’re great at meeting new people. Look how easily you fell in with Liz and Tess.”

“Yeah, but that’s different, they’re your friends. I won’t know anyone at UCSD. I’ll be living with some stranger too.”

“Just relax. Everything will be fine. Since when have you been the one to worry about things?”

“I don’t know…”

“Look, if you ever need anything, you have me. And hey, Isabel lives only a few blocks from your school, and she would always welcome you if you stopped by. You don’t have to worry. Now, how about we go grab some food before my class, okay?”

“Sounds good. Where?”

“There’s a little place over near the library where I go sometimes, come on.”

Alex held out his good arm for his sister who smiled before linking her arm in his with a chuckle and letting him lead her on.

When they got to the café Alex’s smile grew wider as he spotted his girlfriend sitting among the tables. Julia saw her as well and immediately knew where they would end up.

“Hello ladies, mind if we join you?” Alex spoke in his most eloquent English accent.

“Alex!” Isabel’s smile was instant as she stood up to give her boyfriend a kiss…which didn’t end until two throats clearing in the background brought them out of it with slightly blushing cheeks.

The four friends ate lunch in relative peace. Julia got to know Courtney a little better since it was a much smaller group than their initial meeting. She found it very easy to get along with all of Alex’s friends; her big brother certainly knew how to pick the good ones.

“So girls, you two wouldn’t happen to be free for a while, would you?” Alex asked hopefully, directing his question at the two blonds.

“I am,” Isabel spoke up.

“Me too,” Courtney smiled.

“Great. Jules, will you be okay if I leave you with them?” Alex asked hopefully. He didn’t want to abandon her but he had to get to class, his first one of the day…it wouldn’t be a good thing to skip it, being the first day back and all.

“Of course, Alex. I’m not five years old anymore.” Julia rolled her eyes; her brother was so cute when he was being protective.

“We’ll be fine, now go to class!” Isabel laughed as she gave him a hug.

“And be careful, don’t hurt yourself,” Julia called after him. She’d been bugging him all morning about everything. He hadn’t really gotten much peace. But she was his little sister and had to make sure he didn’t make his injuries any worse than they already were.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sweetpea: Okay, talk to me girl. I can tell something’s bothering you, so what’s up?

Teflonbabe: Nothing…

Sweetpea: Nope, not buying it. I want to help, so out with it already. You sound all mopey, and that’s a lot considering we’re talking through the computer.

Teflonbabe: Gees, and I thought Carolyn was demanding…

Sweetpea: Got that right honey.

Teflonbabe: Well its just that I’m moving in two weeks and I can’t wait, but I just realized there’s something that I never really…finished. There’s something I kinda need to do first, and…

Sweetpea: And…?

Teflonbabe: And I don’t know what to do!

Sweetpea: I’m not going to pretend I have any clue as to what we’re talking about, cause I don’t. But I will tell you this, if you follow your heart, you can’t go wrong. Got it?

Teflonbabe: Yeah, I got it. So how are you liking the new school? Is everything working out?

Sweetpea: It’s definitely working out. And I’m loving it, actually. It’s funny when I think about how I met you, and then we just happened to have friends in common…it’s strange how things like that happen.

Teflonbabe: It is, isn’t it?

Sweetpea: Course I probably wouldn’t be nearly as good friends with Max and Michael and Isabel now if it hadn’t been for knowing you. Anyways, the house is so full right now. Rosie’s loving it, she’s been cooking these gastronomical feasts for us. Cause its me, Max, Michael, Kyle, Isabel, and then Alex and Julia are here sometimes now, as well as Liz and Tess all the time. But the food is so good, I’m not complaining.

Teflonbabe: Wow, that’s definitely a full house. But it’ll be getting back to normal soon when Kyle and Michael move out.

Sweetpea: Yeah, it’ll be sad. You guys should’ve just moved in here. There’s room!

Teflonbabe: Thanks Court, but I think it’s better this way.

Sweetpea: I suppose you’re right. So how’s the packing coming? Are you bringing everything with you?

Teflonbabe: No, not everything. Just bedroom furniture that’s gonna be shipped and some of Carolyn’s things.

Sweetpea: So us girls are gonna have to take a shopping trip when you get here then? Sounds like a plan to me!

Teflonbabe: I guess so. Not right after we get in…but yeah, it sounds like fun. I can’t wait to see you all again.

Sweetpea: Me either. And I know a certain spiky haired boy who’s even more anxious. Have you talked with him yet today? It seems like he’s always talking to you. It’s like his cell phone is glued to his ear or something.

Teflonbabe: No we haven’t…brb…sorry, guess I spoke too soon. He just called me. I’ll talk to ya later though, k Court?

Sweetpea: lol! It’s okay, no problem. Hey, tell Mikey I said hi! Love ya.

Teflonbabe: Yeah, bye.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Courtney smiled as she flounced her way up to apartment 3 and knocked on the door. This was the address Justin had given her, and though she’d never been here before, it hadn’t been too difficult to find. The building seemed pretty decent, especially for being near a college campus.

She knocked on the door and waited for a minute before it opened to reveal her oh-so-adorable boyfriend standing there in jeans without a shirt on. Courtney had to mentally stop herself from drooling at his muscular chest. ‘He must work out!’ she thought to herself.

“Hey, glad you found the place,” Justin smiled as he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he pulled her inside.

“Hey sweetie. Nice to see you too!” Courtney smiled as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips while letting her fingers gently run down his chest. She’d been dying to do that since he opened the door.

“How was your day?” Justin asked as he led her into the living room and pulled her down beside him on the couch.

“It was good, actually. I talked to a friend of mine on the computer that I haven’t talked to in a while, but she’s moving back soon and I can’t wait. I haven’t seen her in ages it seems.” Courtney gave him a devious smile before pulling his neck down to kiss him again. She just couldn’t get enough of him.

“Mmm…I like that,” he mumbled in a haze. “You must’ve had a great day! I personally didn’t appreciate having to get up at the crack of dawn for school yet again this week. It would’ve been better if I’d at least gotten a chance to see you…” he pouted.

“Poor baby! What can I do to make it better?”

“Mmm…” he pondered playfully. “How about another kiss?” Courtney giggled at his silliness, but happily obliged.

They hadn’t been together for long, but he was just so adorably sweet and perfect for her that she couldn’t stop herself from doing anything around him. She was enjoying the feeling of being pressed against his warm, bare chest when he pulled back.

“I suppose I should go finish getting dressed. Why don’t you wait here, I’ll be right back after I grab a shirt,” he whispered into her ear before kissing her once more on the cheek and heading down the hall.

“Sure,” Courtney responded lightly as she looked around the room. She’d never been to his apartment before so she was kind of curious to see what a guy like Justin had around the place. Quietly she got up from the couch and wandered toward the kitchen. It seemed pretty normal, lots of unwashed dishes in the sink, but she figured that was common in most college apartments considering...

She was turning around to walk out of the kitchen when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her tight against a hard chest.

“Ahh!” she screamed before she started laughing. She knew it had to be Justin since no one else lived there. A pair of soft lips placed a kiss on her neck just below her ear. The arms loosened their grip and she turned herself around to look into those distinct green eyes that just melted her every time. She’d never met a guy that she was so comfortable with just staring into his eyes without saying a word. “You startled me!” she playfully hit him on the arm.

“Well, it looks like I found a nosy-body. Whatever am I going to do with you?” he pondered.

“How about showing me around? Then I’ll have no reason to be snooping.”

He couldn’t resist her persuasion. “Fine…I suppose I could do that…if I have to.”

“Come on silly!” she laughed, pulling him out of the kitchen. “Where do we begin?”

Smiling he shook his head. Well, there’s not much. You saw the kitchen in there,” he gestured to where they just came from. “And this is the living room, which you already saw as well. There’s the TV and stereo and such.” He pointed out each object making a big deal out of everything. “Of course my Play Station II is there as well…”

“What is it with guys and Play Station?” she huffed.

“Hey! It’s not just Play Station; it’s Play Station II.” He said it as if that made all the difference in the world. Of course to Courtney it didn’t, but she just brushed it off as some guy thing. Michael and Max were the same way, and from what she could tell so far, Kyle was pretty much up there with them too.

“Boys and their toys,” she muttered under her breath, but luckily he didn’t hear her.

“Now, down this hall, is the bathroom, right there, not very spacious, but it works. And then of course, this is my room,” he explained as he opened the door. Courtney was amazed that it was cleaned. Maybe that was why he was gone longer than it should’ve taken a guy to just put on a shirt. How sweet, he’d cleaned up just because of her. What a guy!

“Very nice, I approve!” Courtney leaned into him, placing a kiss to his lips for being so considerate.

“Now, my lady, what is your wish?” he asked as they walked back to the living room and sat on the sofa once more.

“Mmm…Well I was wondering if you had plans this weekend. Cause my friends and I are having a party at our place Saturday. Not a big thing, just close friends to celebrate the end of the summer and everything. And I want you there, cause I want to be able to show off the cute, sweet, adorable guy I’ve been going on and on about since I met him.” The hopeful look in her eyes settled it right then and there; of course he would do anything for her. She just had this look, and it sucked him in no matter what.

“I’d love to meet your friends,” he kissed the tip of her nose lightly before continuing. “I was going to ask you to go to a party with me to meet some of my friends but we could just do that some other time.”

“No!” Now Courtney felt bad. They’d just met yet he was just going to give up spending the weekend partying with friends to go meet her friends? That was so sweet, but she wasn’t going to let him do that. “How about we compromise? We’ll go and see my friends first and hang out there for a little bit, then we can go and I’ll meet your friends. Deal?”

“You are amazing, you know that?” He just stared into her shocking hazel eyes and kissed her, a real kiss, like he’d been dying to do since she got there but hadn’t. He’d only been giving her little pecks, but this was so much better than that. Courtney melted in his arms as she wrapped hers around his neck to hold on.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyle sighed heavily as he sat down in the reclining chair in the den. He’d been wracking his brain all day trying to come up with a gift for Tess, but it just wasn’t working. Her birthday was in less than a week and he had no clue…he was running out of time. He wasn’t about to ask Maria, that had been a Christmas disaster. He was lucky Tess had forgiven him for it.

No, and it had to be something special. But not too flashy either. Something that fit her style. Hmm…

“Hey Kyle,” Liz called as she walked into the mansion. She’d just gotten off work, and as she’d been doing all week, she came to see Max. They’d all been having dinner together lately, and it was fun. It gave them all a chance to see each other and just talk casually and forget about school for a few hours as they all put ideas of work quickly out of mind.

“Liz,” Kyle responded. Then it hit him, Liz! “Hey, Liz, can you come here for a second?” Liz stopped before she reached the door and came back into the room.

“Sure, what is it Kyle?”

“Tess’s birthday is in a week and I don’t know what to get her.”

Liz couldn’t help but laugh at the poor boy’s predicament. She didn’t understand what the problem with shopping for Tess was. She’d never really had any problem, but then again it was her sister.

“Problems? Well, she’s pretty easy. She’ll like anything you give her.”

“Maria said that once too…” he mumbled.

“And she did like what you gave her. It’s not the gift that matters. It’s the feelings behind it that show you care.”

“That’s not helping me here!” he sighed.

“I don’t know. She loves it when you do something that makes her feel special. She likes to get all dressed up and go out. I remember when we were kids, we used to play dress up all the time and pretend we were in LA going to all the latest premiers, or in New York going to the best Broadway shows,” Liz reminisced. She missed the old days; things were so much easier then when she didn’t have a care in the world. But she wouldn’t give a moment of her life up to go back. No, she loved Max and everything about where she was in her life. “Does that help?”

“Maybe…”he mumbled to himself as he got up and walked out of the room and up the stairs leaving a bewildered Liz in his wake.

“That was weird,” she muttered as she shook her head and continued on her way to find Max.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Goodnight Michael, I love you,” every word was reflected in her eyes as she stared at her daughter, phone to her ear.

“I love you too, pixie. Sleep well,” his voice resonated in her ear even after she hung up the phone.

“Your daddy loves you, little one,” Maria whispered to her sleeping daughter. “Don’t worry, soon you’ll see him again. Mommy just needs to finish some things first before that can happen. Mommy’s gonna go see grandpa tomorrow, and she’s gonna bring a picture of you. Yeah, I’m gonna show my beautiful baby girl off.” Maria sighed as she pulled the rocking chair over closer to the crib and sat down. Her head was resting in her hands and it was difficult to speak, but it was easier to get her fears out. “Momma has no idea what she’s going to say, but it’s something she’s gotta do. You’ll be good for grammie while I’m gone, won’t you? Yeah, you’re a good girl. You’re a perfect little angel.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria gave a big sigh as she looked out her car window. This was it. She was here, she just needed to get out and walk up the driveway and knock on that door. She’d done it before, why did it seem so much more difficult this time?

Maybe because this man had rejected her mother when she’d told him he was going to be a father, and she was afraid that now when she told him that she was a mother just past her teenage years he would run from her as well.

There was no reason to believe that, because he’d seemed so…reliable…maybe that wasn’t the right word, but she couldn’t think of anything better. He seemed like a dedicated father to his two girls, her half-sisters, so she had no reason to think he’d run, right? She hoped.

One last deep breath, that’s all. Then reaching for the door, and she finally had it opened. Quickly she repressed the urge to shut it again until after she was out. There, one step at a time…a few more and she reached the door.

Now push the doorbell. That’s all it took. And wait…keep waiting…and that’s it, the door opened and some teenage girl was standing in front of her. Her sister, or at least one of them.

“Can I help you?” the girl asked. She figured it was the older one, Emily.

“Um, yeah,” but Maria didn’t get a chance to finish because at that moment Steven Hastings walked up to see who was at the door.

“Maria,” he seemed surprised but smiled none the less. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come back. But I’m glad you did. Why don’t you come inside? Emily, why don’t you go tell your mother that we’ve got company.” He led Maria into the living room as Emily ran upstairs.

“So how’ve you been?” Steven asked genuinely.

“I’m doing okay. I’m um…getting ready to move back out to California, where I go to school,” Maria began slowly. She knew where this would probably lead, but she didn’t mind, it had to happen sometime. “So things are kinda hectic at our house. My step-brother Kyle already left because classes started already.”

“What about you? If classes started why aren’t you there?”

“I took some time off. I’ll be starting in January again.”

“Was there a reason why you took time off? I’ve always heard it was hard to go back.”

“Well, I needed to come home and spend time with mom. I…I’m not going back yet because I had a baby in July,” her voice was so faint she wasn’t too sure she’d heard it herself.

“Congratulation,” Rita’s voice came from behind her and a soft hand fell comfortingly on her shoulder. She was grateful for that much, though she couldn’t look at her father. She was still afraid of his resentment.

“What…was it a boy or a girl?” Steven’s voice was almost shaky as he spoke. He had a grandchild?

“She’s a beautiful little girl; her name’s Carolyn Renee Guerin. I have a picture of her, if you want to see it.”

“I’d love to,” Steven whispered. Rita had sat down beside him and was rubbing his shoulder in support.

“It was taken just a week ago.” A wistful gleam settled in her eyes as she looked at her daughter again before passing the picture over.

“She looks just like you,” Rita smiled.

“Thank you.”

A tear fell from Steven’s eye as he passed the picture back over. He knew that he and Amy would’ve never made it anyway, and that he loved Rita and their two daughters more than anything, but he did regret not getting to watch Maria growing up.

“Hey mom, is it okay if Jenny comes over tonight?” Emily asked as she appeared in the doorway.

“Sure honey, that’s fine,” Rita agreed.

“Em, why don’t you come here for a minute. I’d like you to meet someone,” Steven asked as he gestured for her to come in.

“Sure daddy. What is it?” Maria knew that Emily was seventeen, almost old enough to be out on her own. God, she was only almost what, four years younger than Maria? That wasn’t too much. She was almost Tess’s age. What would she think about having an older sister? Would she like it, think it was cool, or would she hate her?

“You know how your mom and I sat you and Katie down a while ago told you about how I have another daughter who’s a little bit older than you?” Emily merely nodded in response. “Well, I’d like you to meet your half-sister, Maria.”

“Hi,” Maria’s voice was caught in her throat. She was never shy or nervous, except for now, meeting her family. Why was this so difficult?

“Hi,” brunette responded. Her brown locks curling across her face as she looked upon her big sister.

Something about her, it just made Maria overcome her fear suddenly and she got up to hug her sister.

“I’m glad I finally get to meet you,” Maria smiled. Emily was still nervous and just kind of nodded her head. “So are you a senior in high school?” Maria prodded to hopefully break the ice.

“Yeah. I graduate next spring.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do afterward? College?”

“Probably just community college, I don’t know yet.” Emily seemed to be opening up, she even offered a smile. Maria had a feeling that it was the beginning of a great friendship. And she was finally completely happy with her decision to go one last time.

By the time Maria had left she’d gotten to meet her younger sister Katie as well. Katie wasn’t a bit shy and just babbled on and on, happily telling Maria anything that she asked. She’d even had dinner with that part of her family. It had been nice.

She’d also promised to bring Carolyn by before they left for California. And she’d given her sisters her address and cell phone number so they could keep in touch. Now that she’d found them and grown rather attached, she didn’t want to lose them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, did you figure it out yet?” Liz asked Kyle on Friday after work. She’d been wondering since he’d ran out on their conversation the other day if he’d figured it out, and what he’d done. She couldn’t help the curiosity and she didn’t want to have to wait until next Tuesday for Tess’s birthday to find out.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I got it after class today, while I was out.”

“Soo…are you going to tell me what it is?”

“No, that’s okay.” Kyle was about to walk off but turned to look at her quickly first with a sly smirk.

“Kyle!”

“What? You’ll find out eventually,” he laughed.

“Yeah, like Saturday. We figured we’d make the big end of summer party a happy birthday Tess celebration too. Oh, and we’re all still going out to dinner on Tuesday night in celebration, but presents tomorrow!” Liz smiled.

“Since when?” Courtney asked as she came in the room to join them.

“Since Isabel and Tess and I were talking about it the other day. We figured why not since we can’t be out too late on her real birthday because some of us have classes in the morning.”

“Sounds cool. Hmm, time for me to go shopping then!” Courtney smiled as she picked the purse back up that she’d just set down. “Later!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thanks for coming with me shopping this morning Court,” Justin gave his girlfriend’s hand a warm squeeze as they walked back to his car in the Fashion Valley parking structure. “I just had no idea what to get an 18 year old girl for her birthday.

“No problem, I love to shop,” she replied with a wide grin and a peck to his cheek. “My dad used to complain that mom and I had a shopping problem and needed to go to shopaholics anonymous.”

“Aww, that’s cute.” Justin walked around to Courtney’s door and opened it for her before going around to his and getting in.

“Such a gentleman!” she smiled as she kissed him again. She just couldn’t help herself when he was being all chivalrous.

“My mom always told me it was polite to open doors for ladies, and you’re definitely that.”

He got on the freeway as she directed and he couldn’t help but wonder where this thing with Courtney was going. He really liked her, she was just so sweet and charismatic, and for once with a girl he didn’t even have to think twice about whether or not his mom would approve, he just knew she would. But he’d take this relationship one day at a time.

“So where are we going again?”

“La Jolla, I told you, my place.”

“Okay, as long as you can get me there.”

“No, silly, I’m going to get you lost until you run out of gas and then have my wicked little way with you!” Courtney tried to keep the serious pretense up but the look of shock on his face was just too good for words and she burst into laughter.

“Little? I wouldn’t exactly call you little. I mean, you’re almost as tall as me, and then there’s…” That got him a slap on the arm for his little joke.

“Don’t go there buddy…trust me on this one,” Courtney warned.

“Yes ma’am, I’ll be good now, I promise.”

“Okay, cause if you’re a good boy maybe you can have some cake and ice cream at the party.”

“And a cookie too?” his voice sounded just like a little kid. But he never got a reply because his girlfriend was in hysterics.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Okay, who’s going to the store to go get the drinks with me?” Max asked as he walked out into the backyard where everyone else was.

“I can go, I’m 21,” Kyle spoke up. “Since you can’t buy it and all.” He couldn’t help adding in that last little bit.

“Funny Kyle, real funny.” Max pouted and Liz snickered. She thought it was cute that he was so young.

“Kyle, remember last time you were drinking?” Tess asked.

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. But I’m just gonna go buy it. I won’t drink any unless you say I can, I promise.” He sealed the vow with a kiss which she quickly responded to, and he knew all was forgiven.

“That’s kinda funny if you ask me,” Alex chimed in. “I mean, hey, in 3 more days you won’t be jail bait anymore, Kyle!” Everyone erupted in laughter at that remark.

Tess had never thought about it that way before. So what if she was so much younger than her boyfriend. What did it matter if he was 21 and she wasn’t quite 18? It didn’t really, not to her at least. And he didn’t seem to care. What was important was how they felt about each other, and she loved spending all the time with him she could.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“That one, right there. Just park anywhere in the driveway,” Court directed. Once the car stopped she was grabbing her stuff, and before she knew it Justin was holding her door open and offering his arm. She giggled, she could definitely get used to this, though it might spoil her to death, but she didn’t mind. Not one bit!

Her arm threaded through his as they walked up to the door and paused as Courtney rang the bell.

“Why are you ringing the doorbell when you live here?” Justin was confused.

“Because it’s more fun this way! I like having doors opened for me,” she smiled her brightest smile possible in that moment and he just shook his head. He should of known, girl logic…there was never any getting away from it and no dictionary in the world could translate it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The doorbell rang inside the house and the friends that were sitting around talking each looked at one another, no one wanting to bother and get up. Max gave Liz his best impression of her own puppy dog eyes, and smiled when he won.

“Fine!” she rolled her eyes and stood up from her place on his lap. “Why is it that I don’t even live here and I’m the one getting the door?” she mumbled as she walked out of the room.

Opening the door she was about to welcome the newest guests but stopped when she saw who it was. Okay, now she was confused.

“Courtney? Justin? What are you two doing here together?” Because it was obvious they were there together from the look of his arms wrapped securely around her waist.

“Lizzie?!” Justin called in surprise.

“Hey Liz,” Courtney smiled. “Do you two know each other?”

“Uh, yeah, you could say that. Court, sweetie, are you sure we’re at the right place?” he had to check.

“Of course, silly. Liz, this is my new boyfriend Justin that I’ve been telling you all about.” Courtney didn’t exactly get the response she was expecting when Liz started laughing.

“Court, I think we have more friends in common than we thought,” Justin pondered.

“So this is the party you were going to bring me to later, huh?”

“This would be the one.”

“Hmm…well, at least we don’t have to leave early. Now come on, lets go inside and shock everyone else!” she smiled as she tugged on his arm.

“I just wonder how we never met before Dana’s party if we have all the same friends.” He was still confused.

“I don’t know. Maybe it was fate’s cruel joke, but we found a way.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You should go join them.”

“No, that’s okay. I like keeping you company.” Everyone was in the pool except Isabel and Alex. Since he couldn’t go in and have fun with everyone else because of his injuries, she wasn’t about to let him sit all by his lonesome when they could instead have some quality alone time.

They watched their friends try to play volleyball without any net, but it just wasn’t working. Every 2 seconds they were arguing about what would and wouldn’t make it over the imaginary net.

“They’re kinda cute together,” Isabel mused as she watched her best friend interacting with her new boyfriend.

“Justin and Court? Yeah, how is it that when they met for the first time it was at some random party in LA instead of all the times we’ve seen him down here?”

“Just fate’s cruel joke?”

“Mmm…maybe fate doesn’t like them as much as she likes us,” Alex smiled and kissed his girlfriend. That was one sport he could handle just fine while injured, kissing his girlfriend. Maybe he’d just have to keep at it since he wasn’t getting too much extra exercise.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tess smiled genuinely up at her big sister and gave her a hug. “Thank you Lizzie, you’re the best big-sis!”

Setting the gift bag back down beside her, she waited for the last one. Kyle had refused to give her anything until everyone else had. She couldn’t help but be anxious.

“Baby, everyone else has already given me gifts. So what’s the big secret already?”

“I just, I hope you like it. Happy birthday Tess,” and he kissed her, a sweet kiss, not too long because the groans from everyone surrounding them were a complete mood-breaker. He handed her the large envelope and stepped back shoving his hands in his pockets as he watched her open it.

When Tess read the card she felt the prickle of tears in her eyes. How was it that he just always knew what to say? Then she saw it sitting inside the card. Two tickets to go and see The Lion King performed up in LA.

“Kyle…oh my god! Thank you!” In a flash her arms were wrapped around his neck so tightly he could barely breathe. “I’ve wanted to go see that for so long! How’d you know?!”

“Tess…” he tried to speak. “Choking…breathe…”

“Oh, I’m sorry baby,” she giggled. “Thank you so much! I love it.”

“I’m glad. But that’s not all. It also includes dinner at any restaurant of your choice before the show.”

“Ahh…thank you baby! You’re the best!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So Tess’s party was today?” Maria asked.

“Yeah, everyone’s still here. We all got a big surprise when Courtney and Justin got here together. They’ve been going out since they met at some party.”

“Really?” Maria laughed. “Court was telling me about her new boyfriend the other day. How cute!”

“Yeah, it’s funny how much the group has changed, it’s gotten so much bigger.”

“I can’t wait to come back. Tell Tess the next time you see her that I’ll have her present with me when I get there. I never got around to mailing it. I’ve just been so busy.”

“Just don’t wear yourself out too much trying to get everything done.” The concern was evident in Michael’s voice.

“I know, I won’t. I’ve gotta have lots of energy to keep up with this little one. But she’s sleeping for longer periods of time now, so that’s nice. Mom’s all nervous about the two of us flying by ourselves, but I told her I’d be fine. Besides, I have you to meet us at the airport when we get in, and I know you’ll be there.”

“Always pixie. I’ll always be here for you when you need me, I promise. You girls have a goodnight, okay?”

“We will. Goodnight Michael, I love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

“Bye.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 62

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Happy birthday,” Kyle said coming up behind his girlfriend and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Mmmm. Thank you,” Tess responded, leaning her head back to give him a kiss.

“Come on,” Kyle said, a grin on his face as he started pulling her towards the door. “I have a surprise for you.”

Tess came willingly for a moment before coming to her senses. “Wait, Kyle. I can’t leave. I’m working.”

“Not anymore your not. I got Katie to cover for you,” he said, pointing to the girl on the other side of the café.

Tess couldn’t help but smile as she saw Katie already taking over her tables. “What have you got up your sleeve Mr. Valenti?”

“You’ll see. Now, come on.”

With his arms still around her waist, Kyle led Tess out of the café and around the corner towards the interior of campus.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“Kyle, stop being so secretive. Tell me,” she said in a whiny voice.

“Gee, aren’t we impatient. Can’t you just wait two seconds?”

“No,” she stated frankly.

“Well fine then, we’re here,” he said as they rounded a corner.

They were at a small, grassy field, on some more secluded part of campus. Looking straight in front of her, Tess saw a blanket laid out with a picnic basket. Nice and quaint, not too busy…just perfect.

“Kyle I…”

“Since we’re going out with the gang tonight and we couldn’t do anything special, just the two of us, I figured that lunch would have to do.”

“I love it,” Tess said before turning around to thank him with a kiss.

“Shall we?” Kyle motioned towards the blanket and they went to sit down. He pulled out a simple lunch with sandwiches and fruit salad with chocolate pudding for dessert. But what made it all the more special, was that he’d brought her favorite sandwich, roast beef and cream cheese; she couldn’t remember ever having told him that before, but somehow he knew.

They sat down together and ate in contented silence, sneaking glances and giving coy smiles throughout the meal. When they were finished, Tess sat leaning against Kyle’s chest, with his arms around her waist hugging her to him tightly, just enjoying the moment.

“Mmmm, thank you Kyle. This was great.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” he replied softly in her ear, leaving a shiver running down her body.

“I couldn’t have imagined anything better,” Tess sighed, nestling into his embrace. She closed her eyes letting herself live only in the moment, letting it engulf her senses.

“Only the best for you,” he murmured. He was finally here, could finally hold her in his arms whenever he wanted. He couldn’t imagine life getting any better than this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“We should…mmm…we should uh…oh…no, we really should go, we were supposed to be there…be there 5 minutes ago,” Courtney tried to get out between kisses. She was currently wrapped up in Justin’s arms, drowning in his kisses, and there was really nowhere else she’d rather be. But, they were supposed to be meeting the gang, and it was Tess’s birthday…so they should really try to get going.

“Hmmm,” Justin moaned, still kissing his way down her neck, “just five more minutes. They won’t miss us for five…measly…insignificant…little…minutes,” he finished, accentuating each word with a kiss.”

“Well…” Courtney trailed off before letting his sweet mouth engulf her own. Their tongues dueled for a while, until the need for air overtook them. Breaking apart with heaving breaths, “ I guess five more minutes can’t hurt.”

Justin just smiled and went back to ravaging his beautiful girlfriend. Man, he could get used to this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thirty Minutes later…

“Are you ready to order yet?” the waiter asked coming over to the table for the second time.

“No, I’m sorry,” Liz answered. “We’re still waiting on some friends that haven’t arrived yet.”

“That’s fine. Just let me know when you’re ready,” the waiter said giving Liz a broad smile and a quick once over before turning to leave.

“What was that?” Max asked as soon as the guy was out of earshot.

“What?” Liz asked oblivious.

“That waiter was checking you out; he was checking out my girlfriend,” Max finished a little defensively.

“No he wasn’t,” Liz laughed. “I think you’re just being paranoid.”

“I am not. Please tell me I am not the only one who saw that,” Max said looking around the table.

“No man, I saw it too,” Kyle agreed.

“Ditto,” Michael responded in turn.

“Alex?” Max asked, as his friend just nodded his affirmation.

The girls just stared on in amusement, none of them seeing what had been so blatantly obvious to the guys.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tess started. “Your telling me that all four of you saw that, but that us four girls didn’t?”

“I can’t believe that none of you saw that,” Max looked at the girls astonished. “It’s not like he was being particularly discreet about it either.”

“Is this one of those guy things that only you understand?” Isabel asked tauntingly.

“Max, just forget about it, okay,” Liz interrupted him before he could respond. “Whatever it was or wasn’t it doesn’t matter cause you’re the one for me and you have nothing to worry about okay?”

“Okay,” Max muttered, somewhat dejectedly. But soon he was placing his and Liz’s joined hands on top of the table, as if staking his claim that she was his. Liz thought it was kind of sweet, but reassured him that he needn’t worry. She loved him and nobody was going to change that.

“Well look who decided to finally grace us with their presence,” Julia said as she motioned towards the door where Justin and Courtney had just entered. They walked quickly over to the table where Courtney started apologizing for their tardiness.

“I’m so sorry guys, we were just…held up.”

“Right,” Michael started, “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

Courtney blushed, hiding her head in Justin’s chest. He just stood grinning and patted her head comfortingly.

“Dost my eyes deceive me…or did we just make Courtney Harding blush? Well, today is a special day.”

Everybody laughed a little before Liz interrupted. “Okay you guys, leave her alone. How would you like it if you were in their situation?”

“I think I’d like it just fine,” Max said suggestively, before moving to whisper something in Liz’s ear. Now she was blushing too, earning another laugh from the table.

“Two down, three to go,” Justin commented, earning him a smack from Courtney before they finally took their seats at the table.

“All right, that’s enough guys. Figure out what you want to eat so we can order already, I’m starved,” Tess dramatized.

They quickly decided on their meals and called the waiter over. He took their orders in turn, Max shooting glares at him the whole time. Once he left, Justin turned to Liz, an odd look on his face.

“Lizzie, that guy was totally checking you out.”

“See,” Max stated boastfully, causing the group to burst out in another fit of laughter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thanks for dinner sweetie. It was great,” Liz said, as she snuggled into Max’s side. They were sitting in the living room now, having just finished a magnificent dinner. “Did I ever tell you that I think it’s incredibly sexy when a man can cook?” she reached up giving him a peck on the lips.

“No you haven’t, and you’re welcome. But I have to admit that Rosie did help a bit.”

“Hmmmm…well I guess that’s okay. Everyone has to start somewhere huh.”

“Exactly,” Max said with a smile before returning her kiss with one of his own.

They sat for a while in comfortable silence, each one just enjoying being in the other’s company. Liz was the one to break the moment.

“I was talking with Dr. Carter today, and he said he’d be very interested in talking with you about the job opening coming up at Ingen. He said he was planning on calling you, but that since they hadn’t officially posted the opening yet, he was going to wait on that. But you could definitely expect a call from him in the near future.”

Max was just silent for a moment, not really knowing what to say. Ever since Liz had mentioned about the opening at Ingen he’d thought long and hard about where his future was going and what he really wanted to do with his life. Not only did he think that working with Liz was probably a bad idea, it was doubtful he could ever get any work done with her around, but he was beginning to reexamine his goals, and suddenly, Ingen was no longer one of them.

Liz wasn’t sure what to make of his silence. His whole demeanor seemed to change in the last few minutes and he seemed to physically stiffen up beside her.

“Max?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just…I don’t really think I want to work at Ingen anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to push. It’s just that it seemed to be so important to you before. I just wanted to see that you got what you deserved.” Liz turned her face up to him so as better to read the emotions on his face.

“Thank you, but…I don’t know. I kind of had something else in mind.”

“Like what?” Liz asked, now curious.

“Well, I actually applied for an internship down at the hospital. Ever since I took that course over the summer on child pathogens I’ve been interested. I want to work in the pediatrics department if possible.”

“You’re gonna be a doctor?” Liz asked, a glimmer in her eye. Max would make an excellent doctor.

“Well, I don’t know yet. This is kinda like testing the waters, but yeah…I think that might be what I want to do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“I don’t know. I guess cause I didn’t want to tell you until I was absolutely sure. And then…you just seemed so excited about my coming to work for Ingen that I didn’t know how to break it to you that I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“Look Max. I want you to do what you want to do, what makes you happy. And I could never be disappointed in you. Besides, I think you’d make a great doctor.”

“Really?”

“Yes really.”

“But what about us. I mean, medical school is a long road and I’ve heard that a lot of relationships don’t make it through it.”

“Max,” Liz said laughing slightly. “That’s still almost two years away, and if you decide that this is what you want to do, then we’ll make it work. I love you and I’ll stick by you every step of the way. Now stop worrying and do what makes you happy.”

“God I love you,” Max said as he pulled Liz over to sit on his lap. “What would I ever do without you?”

“I don’t know,” Liz replied, smiling. “Be miserable and alone?”

“Probably,” Max laughed. “Do you know how much you mean to me Elizabeth Parker?”

“How much?”

“This much,” and with that Max kissed her with all the passion and love he felt. He would give up the world just for her if he had to…in a heartbeat.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

‘I’m really here,’ Julia thought as she looked out over the UCSD campus.

If someone had asked her a few years ago where she’d be when she graduated, she wouldn’t ever have dreamed that she’d be here. Hundreds of miles from home, two states away, in San Diego… It wasn’t even until Alex started going to USD that she even dreamed of leaving New Mexico.

Now here she was. It was an exhilarating experience. She was scared and excited and happy all at once. It was weird leaving everything behind, her friends, her family…well, except for Alex.

She just wasn’t used to being on her own. Not that she was really on her own, she’d always have Alex…and all her new friends, but it just wasn’t the same. She was still on her own for the first time in her life and that was just a little bit scary.

It was great getting to meet all of Alex’s friend though. They were always so nice and so accepting of her, but she still felt left out sometimes. They just seemed to fit so well together, and knew each other inside and out, the perfect friends…that sometimes Julia just felt out of place. They’d talk about things that she had no part of, talk about the good times that she wasn’t around for. Like Michael and Maria. They had a child together, yet they apparently just started dating…she had yet to have that one explained to her.

But putting all that aside, she was still excited to be here. Looking over the campus she couldn’t even begin to imagine all that awaited her once she started. The experience of a lifetime, that’s what most people called it. Forging the friendships that will never be forgotten.

‘Well if it’s the experience of a lifetime…I’m ready for it.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Need any help?”

Maria looked up and smiled at her mother standing in the doorway.

“Sure.” She didn’t really need any help, but seeing as she and Carolyn were leaving tomorrow for San Diego, she could use all the time with her mom she could get. “I’m just trying to pack up the last of Carolyn and my things that are gonna come out with you and Jim. Then it’s on to packing our suitcases.”

“I think I can deal with that. How bout I start working on Carolyn’s bag?”

“Sounds great.”

They packed in silence for a while, not really sure what to say to each other. There was so much, where should they start?

“I’m so proud of you,” Amy finally said after a moment.

“What?” Maria asked, not sure where this was coming from.

“It’s just…after everything that’s happened you’ve still come out on top. You’ve had a lot of hard decisions to make over the last few months and you’ve faced each one head on. You’ve made a good life for yourself out of a difficult situation. I’m just so proud of you for keeping such a level head on your shoulders.”

“I never could have done any of this without you mom.”

“You didn’t need me as much as you think you did. Every decision you made, you made by yourself. I just helped you to see it from all sides.”

Maria just stared at her mother not sure what to say. How could she not realize everything she’d done for her? “Mom, I couldn’t have done anything without the support and love you gave me. You supported everything I did, no matter what. Without you, I would’ve been lost.”

“I love you baby, how could I do anything but support you? I never want you to have to go through what I went through.”

“Oh, I love you mom,” Maria said, coming around the bed she was packing on to give Amy a hug. They embraced, tears threatening their eyes, until Maria finally spoke her fears.

“I’m scared mom. I don’t know how to do this on my own.”

“Maria, you’re doing just fine dear. You don’t need me to do this when you’ve been getting along so well for the last two months on your own. Besides, you have Michael. And plenty of friends who I’m sure will help you along the way.”

“I know. I guess…I’m just gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too dear. I’m gonna miss you too.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright sweetie, are you ready to go see Daddy?” Maria said to a slowly waking Carolyn in her arms. The plane had just landed and they were taxing in. Maria couldn’t wait to see Michael. She’d missed him so much, it was a wonder she’d spent so many months without him.

When they finally got to the jet way, and started to file out of the plane, Maria found herself rushing to try to get out sooner. She quickly scolded herself, she’d see him soon enough.

Michael waited impatiently at the gate, waiting for his girlfriend and daughter to walk off the plane. He had missed them so much that he’d called Maria everyday, usually twice or three times wanting to hear about everything that’d happened. He’d already missed so much of Carolyn’s life, he couldn’t believe that he’d allowed himself to miss more of it. But Maria had been right, he needed to come back to school…and how could he say no to Maria?

As soon as he saw her exiting the plane, he called out to her without a thought.

“Maria!”

Maria heard her name and turned to see a smiling Michael making his way towards her. She started towards him, trying to make her way through the crowds, which was quite difficult with a baby in one arm and a purse and carry-on bag on the other. But finally she was able to make her way through the busy mob and to her awaiting boyfriend.

As soon as Maria reached him, Michael took the bags dropping them to the floor, then putting an arm around Maria’s waist to draw her closer to him and being careful not to crush his smiling daughter, latched his lips onto Maria’s for a hello kiss. The kiss lasted a few moments, Michael making love to her mouth with his own. They finally broke apart when the need for air overtook them.

Gasping for breath, Michael finally found his voice. “God I missed you.”

“Ditto,” Maria replied, smiling up at him.

“Let’s go home,” Michael said, grabbing his daughter from Maria’s arms to say hello to her too. It was a kind of euphoric feeling…they were going home…their home…where they’d live together and raise their daughter…together. Michael finally had the perfect, well as perfect as could be, family that he always wanted. He didn’t think that things could get much better than this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ta-da!” Michael exclaimed as he opened the door for Maria to their new home.

“Wow. Michael…it’s beautiful. I didn’t know you had already started unpacking.”

“Kyle and I started a couple days ago. We figured it would help you feel a little more at home. So are you ready for the tour?”

“Yes please.”

They started with the downstairs, moving into the kitchen were they found Kyle who greeted his sister with a warm hug. They then moved upstairs where Michael showed Maria each of their bedrooms.

“This is your room,” Michael said opening the door. Maria found that her bed was already made, the furniture all set up. “If you want to rearrange anything, just let me know and Kyle and I’ll do it.”

“No, it’s fine. Thank you,” Maria said, reaching up to give him a peck.

“Carolyn’s room is just through here,” Michael motioned toward the adjoining door before making their way towards it. The nursery was painted in a soft blue and the crib and Maria’s rocking chair were set up in the room, much in the same position they had been in Nebraska.

“What do you think baby?” Michael asked, holding up a sleepy eyed Carolyn to see her new room. She yawned tiredly and Michael frowned, putting on a mock hurt look. “She doesn’t seem too excited.”

Maria just laughed and took her daughter from Michael’s arms. “I think she’s just a little tired. It was a long flight,” Maria said as she put Carolyn down in the crib. “But I’m sure she’s thrilled.”

“Fine then, continuing with the tour then,” Michael started after they left the room to let Carolyn nap. “My room is right here, next door to the nursery, that’s the bathroom, and Kyle’s room is right there down the hall.”

“Do I get to see your room?”

“I guess,” Michael said teasingly. He opened the door to his room and Maria looked around inquisitively. He had his bed on one wall and his dresser on another. His desk was in the corner on the same wall as the door, his computer already set up on top. He still had boxes sitting around unpacked…it seemed he’d spent more time on the rest of the house than on his own room.

“So what do you think?”

“Well, I don’t know,” Maria started, an evil glint in her eye. “ It’s kinda boring don’t you think?”

“Boring!” Michael exclaimed overdramatically. “How’s this for boring?” he finished as his fingers found her sides and started tickling her relentlessly.

Maria giggled helplessly at Michael’s assault until he finally gave up when Kyle called up to them. “Alright you two love birds, quit it and get down here. Lunch is ready.”

Michael sighed as they headed back downstairs. “Ruin all my fun,” he muttered. Then, when they reached the living room where Kyle was already sitting, “You’re gonna pay for that one Valenti.”

“Whatever Guerin,” Kyle brushed off as he offered them the sandwiches he’d made.

They ate in silence for a while, Michael being the first to speak.

“We can work on the rest of the unpacking whenever you like. I told everybody that they couldn’t come by until later so you could get settled in and rest from your flight and stuff before the mob took over. Well, except for Tess, cause she’s coming over to see Kyle and I couldn’t really stop that.” At that he gave a look to Kyle who gave a determinate nod of his head in agreement before Michael continued. “And I kinda had to lie to Lizzie and tell her that your plane wasn’t coming in until later and get Max to keep her occupied for a few hours.”

Maria laughed at his admission. “You know how much trouble you’re going to be in when she finds out, don’t you?”

“Yes, but I’ve got my girlfriend to protect me.”

“Wow, you have great faith in her loyalty to you as opposed to her best friend,” Maria replied teasingly.

“But I was only looking out for your own good,” Michael pouted.

“Alright, I’ll make sure she doesn’t beat you up too bad.”

“Thanks, thanks,” Michael remarked sarcastically. “I appreciate it.”

“Any time, Mikey-boy. Now lets get started on the rest of those boxes,” Maria said, getting up and putting her hands out to help him. Michael groaned, but came willingly. Like he really had a choice in the matter!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Jim honey?”

“Yeah,” Jim replied. They were driving through Colorado now, still looking at a long drive ahead of them.

“I’m not sure how I should feel right now.”

“What do you mean?” Jim asked, not sure where this was coming from.

“Maria. She’s going back to San Diego and living on her own again. She’s getting back to her life and knows that she can do this on her own. That she doesn’t need me behind her every step of the way to catch her when she falls. And I should be happy about that, and I am. But at the same I can’t believe that I’m losing my baby again. It was so nice to have her home the last couple of months, it’s hard to accept that she needs to go out on her own now. That my baby doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Amy. You know that’s not true. Maria will always need you. You’ll always be her mother.”

“I know. But it’s not the same. Isn’t it hard for you to see Kyle moving away?”

“Of course it is, but I know that this has been a long time coming for him. I’ve kinda had a couple years to prepare myself.”

“So have I, and I’m used to her being gone. I mean, I went almost two years without her before, why is this so hard now?”

“Maybe cause you know what she’s going through. You know how hard this is going to be for her, and you want to be there to help her with every little bump in the road. But she’s not going to learn anything if you hold her hand through it all.”

“I know. I guess…I’m just going to miss her so much. Just think of how quiet the house is going to be now. What are we going to do with that big house all to ourselves?”

“I’m sure we could think of a few things,” Jim said, looking at his wife suggestively before turning back to the road.

Amy couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, of course there’s that…but it’s still going to be weird without having either of the kids around. I guess I just miss having children around that’s all.”

“I know honey, but it’s not like they’re gone forever. They’ll always be our children. And Maria is a beautiful, intelligent, independent woman. You raised a great daughter, Amy.”

“And you a great son,” Amy commented in return.

“I know,” Jim said as silence took over the car again. They may always miss having their children, but knowing the great people they have grown into, how could they ask for more.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

September 14, 2002

Michael just stared at the computer screen for a while, not quite sure how to start. He hadn’t actually written in his journal since he sent it with Tess. Once he knew it was going to Maria, it wasn’t as necessary to write anymore. And then after she’d called him and he flew out to Nebraska, of course he hadn’t written.

But now…for some reason now he felt the need to start writing again. But where did he start? Until now his writing had always been letters to Maria, but he no longer felt the need to write to her, when they shared everything. They were much better about relaying their thoughts and feelings then they used to be.

Suddenly a thought came to him and he knew where he had to start.

Dear Carolyn,
I was writing these letters to your mother and now I’m writing to you. Tonight is the first night we have together in our own house. Finally, we can be the family that we need to be, the family that I’ve always wanted. I want to start out by letting you know that I love you so much, and even though I wasn’t there for your mother through it all, know that I wanted to be. There was never a moment that I didn’t love you my beautiful daughter, or your mother.
I know that over the years you will eventually hear the tragic story of how your mother and I got together and how you came to be. It’s not the prettiest of tales, but at least it had a glorious and happy ending…you. You’re the embodiment of all the love Maria and I feel for each other, the melding of our souls. Now don’t ever think that because you were…unexpected that we didn’t want you. On the contrary, hearing of your existence was a surprise, but had me jumping for joy. I was having a child, was going to be a father…no other feeling in the world could replace that.
Through these letters you should learn the ins and outs and happens of our past, your families past…however extended that may be. I can’t promise you that every entry will be enthralling, but it will be the essence that is us: friends and family, the group that you’ll grow up in.
The circumstances around you mother and mine relationship is complicated, but no matter what happens, I will always love her, and will always love you. Always remember that much.

Love always and forever,
Your father
Michael Geurin

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Need any more help mom?”

“No, I think I’ve got it from here honey. Everyone should be here soon, so why don’t you just go get ready for your friends. Dinner should be ready in half an hour.”

“Alright, if your sure…”

Amy just laughed. “I’m sure honey. Go.”

Maria just smiled and made her way back out to living room where Michael and Kyle were sitting, Michael patting Carolyn on the back lightly since she’d just had dinner herself. The whole gang was coming over for dinner tonight, the first dinner in the new house. Kind of like a house warming type thing.

“Kyle when are you going to pick up Tess?” Maria asked, sitting down next to Michael, waiting for their friends to arrive.

“I’m not. She’s catching a ride with Max and Liz.”

“Ah, the poor thing. To be stuck with those two.”

The three started laughing, but were quickly interrupted by a voice coming into the room.

“Hey! I heard that,” Liz said, hands on her hips, trying to look angry. But she was failing miserably as she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Max and Tess trailed in quickly behind her.

Tess was snickering behind Lizzie’s back, not being able to help but comment. “Hey, it’s all right. I figured if I tagged along I would make sure they got here on time.”

Liz cracked then, not being able to keep the smile off her face any longer as she reached for her sister. “Why I gotta…”

Tess ran over to Kyle then, plopping down next to him and putting his arm around her protectively. Seeing this, Liz stopped in her tracks, knowing Tess had won. Tess promptly stuck her tongue out in triumph and everyone laughed.

“Hey, look who I found,” Jim came in, followed by the rest of the gang: Alex, Isabel, Justin, Courtney and Julia.

They had dinner, laughing and joking together, just enjoying each other’s company. They were all glad to have Maria back and spent a lot of time catching her up on all that had happened while she was gone.

Maria got to talk with Julia a little more, having met her the first night she was back when the gang came over to great her. She found Julia to be an intelligent and kind girl, who was actually a lot more talkative one on one than in the big crowd. Maria figured she was a little intimidated by the intimacy of the group, and she couldn’t blame her, they’d all become so close over the last year.

When she sat to think about it though, it was amazing what the year had brought. They’d all gone through so much over the last twelve months, yet look at them now. All back together again. After all the heartbreak, the hardship, somehow they found their way back. The group was whole. Seeing the old familiar faces, and the new ones…Maria couldn’t wait to see what the next year would bring.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Kyle, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yeah, sure dad.” They had all just been sitting around talking after dinner when his Dad pulled him aside. Kyle wasn’t quite sure what this was about, but he hoped it wasn’t another lecture.

They moved to the family room as to have some privacy. When they got there, Kyle turned around to look at his father with a curious expression on his face, as Jim had not said anything since he asked Kyle if they could talk.

There was an odd silence and Jim tried to gather his thoughts and form them into words.

“Kyle, I…” Jim pause for a second, still not exactly sure where he was going with this. “I just wanted to say, that I’m proud of you son. In the last few months you’ve shown me the completely responsible, mature man that you can be, and I just wanted to let you know that I’m proud of that. You’ve turned into the kind man I’ve always hoped you would be, better even.”

Kyle was completely floored. He didn’t know what to say. Sure his dad and him talked, but…they still had trouble when it came to admitting their feelings.

“Dad I…wow. Uh…thank you.”

“I just thought that you should know that.”

They were silent for a while and Jim turned to leave, but Kyle stopped him.

“Dad, I just…where is this coming from?”

“I see the way you’ve taken care of your sister, one that isn’t even blood related to you, yet you’ll go to the ends of the earth to help her. And I see you with Tess, how you treat her with such respect and compassion. It makes me take pride in saying that you’re my son.”

With that Jim turned and walked out of the room without another word, not giving Kyle the chance to respond.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Maria, will you come down please sweetheart? There’s someone here to see you,” Amy called up the stairs.

“Just a second,” Maria called as she finished changing Carolyn’s diaper. When she was done, she picked up her daughter and started making her way down the stairs.

As the got to the bottom, she turned around towards the living room, only to gasp at the sight before her.

“Surprise!” the girls shouted, each throwing a handful of confetti in Maria’s direction.

Maria looked puzzled, but still had a smile on her face. “What is this you guys? It’s a little early for my birthday don’t you think?”

“It’s not for your birthday,” Liz laughed. “It’s a baby shower! The guys have been exiled to the mansion for the afternoon, much to Michael’s dismay mind you. But we have the whole afternoon to be girly and play baby games.”

“Thank you guys. I don’t know what to say,” Maria said, a little teary eyed.

“Just say that you love it and that’s enough for us,” Tess said, putting her arms around Maria’s shoulder and leading her towards the interior of the living room where everything was set up.

“Alright, so what’s first?” Maria asked once they sat her down and Amy took Carolyn from her arms to allow her to more fully participate.

“Presents,” came the chorus of voices, followed by giggles. This could certainly get interesting.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Awww…look at this. Little baby dresses and little baby shoes… They’re so cute! I want one!”

“A little baby shoe?” Isabel asked, looking at Courtney oddly.

“No, a baby,” Courtney stated as if it were obvious.

“Does Justin know about this?” Liz asked, only half joking.

“No! You guys…I don’t want one now. I just want one to play with and dress up. Hey Maria, can I borrow yours?”

“Are you offering free babysitting?” They all laughed, glad to be back together again.

“You know what we haven’t done in a while?” Tess stared. “We need a girl’s night!”

“It’s true. How bout this Saturday? We could have it at the mansion.”

“Actually, here would be better,” Maria interrupted. “Remember…baby to take care of.”

“Right got it. Here. And of course you’re invited too Julia.”

“Thanks, sounds like fun. But uh, what is a girl’s night?” Julia asked, unsure. She’d become a lot more comfortable with the group, over the last couple weeks and she was really excited about hanging out with them. But she figured she better know what she was in for first.

“Oh,” Liz stepped in, “It’s were us girls just hang out and veg, pigging out on ice cream and watching cheesy movies while we gossip about guys and stuff. It’s good fun.”

“Sounds good,” Julia said. “I’m in.”

“Alright.”

“Uh guys,” Isabel spoke for the first time since the subject of a girl’s night came up. “I think I’m gonna have to sit this one out. I kind of already have plans for Saturday.”

“Of course you do,” Maria replied knowingly. She knew exactly why Isabel wasn’t coming. Isabel blushed realizing that Maria had figured out her plan. The others I’m sure noticed as well, but all remained quite.

“Alright, how about some games?” Courtney changed the subject and Isabel looked at her graciously. They went on to have a great time playing games and having cake. Maria thought this was the best thing her friends had done for her yet. They really were the best friends a girl could have.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, where are we going?” Courtney asked as they walked through downtown San Diego.

“To dinner,” Justin said, not elaborating.

“Well I know that, just where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Ugh…I hate surprises.”

“No you don’t. You love them.”

“Yeah, as long as I know what’s going to happen. I can’t stand the suspense.”

Justin just laughed as the continued walking to the restaurant. They finally reached the restaurant, which Courtney loved, and had an excellent meal.

They were on their way out when they passed an attractive woman walking in the opposite direction. Justin turned around to get a better look while Courtney stood agape, watching him drool over the slut that just walked by.

“What was that?” she nearly screamed, causing Justin to turn back swiftly.

“What?”

“Don’t what me? You were totally just checking out that other chick.”

“What? No I wasn’t.”

“Hello, you were staring at her ass for a good five minutes. Hello, I’m right here. Remember me, your girlfriend,” she was yelling now, not at all worried about the scene they were currently making in the restaurant.

“Courtney, calm down. It’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.” Looking at her face Justin knew that was the wrong thing to say.

“Oh, so that’s how you see us. So, how many other girls are you seeing behind my back? Huh?”

“No Courtney, I didn’t mean it like that. I…” he started, but he was interrupted by the restaurant manager.

“Excuse me, but I’m going to have to ask you to take this outside. You’re disturbing the other customers.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Courtney said in mock politeness. “I think I’ve said all that I needed to say. We’re through,” she finished, turning on Justin and walking out the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Men!” Courtney huffed as she walked in the front door. She’d taken a cab home and all she really wanted to do right now was take a nice hot bath and go to bed. But she needed to vent a little first.

She found Max on the couch in the family room trying to read, so she plopped down next to him. “Why are men such jerks?”

“Am I supposed to be able to help here?” Max asked, trying to pay attention to his studying as opposed to the seething Courtney next to him.

“Hey, after all the help I’ve given you, the least you could do is listen to me.”

“Fair enough,” Max said putting his book aside. “What happened?”

“You see that asshole I was dating, Justin, we were walking out of the restaurant, which was really lovely by the way, you should take Liz there sometime. Anyway, we were leaving and…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Women!” Justin said storming into Alex’s apartment. “They’re just… Oh, hi Isabel, Julia,” Justin stopped himself, nodding to the two in turn. “I see that I didn’t really think this through enough. I seem to be outnumbered here.”

“What happened?” Alex asked, puzzled at his friend just standing in the doorway.

“Um…well, Courtney and I kinda broke up. Well, she pretty much broke up with me.”

“What? Why?” Isabel asked, knowing how happy Courtney had been with Justin.

“Well…uh…”

“What did you do?” Isabel interrupted, knowing that he must have screwed up somewhere.

“What makes you think I did something? Why do you think it’s all my fault?”

“Why else would Courtney have broken up with you?”

“Good point. But it was nothing. She like totally over-reacted. We were at the restaurant when…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t believe that he did that.”

“I know,” Courtney said in exasperation, having just finished retelling the tale of her and Justin’s breakup the other night. She and the rest of the girls, minus Isabel of course, were sitting around with pints of Ben and Jerry’s, having just finished watching The Princess Bride and moving onto the gossiping part of the evening.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better,” Julia started, “he came over to Alex’s after that, and after he told us what happened, Isabel and I gave him a piece of our minds.”

“Why thank you Julia, that is very appreciated,” Courtney said, giggling. Then, sobering up a little, “Boys are dumb, lets throw rocks at them.” All five girls broke into laughter then.

“Speak for yourself,” Liz interrupted their laughter. “Not all boys are dumb.”

“Yes they are,” Tess reiterated, and the girls started laughing again.

“Which is why us girls need to stick together,” this from Courtney. “All for one and one for all.”

“Alright, I think that’s enough ranting about the guys for tonight. I wanna hear the good stuff. Lizzie?” Tess turned on her sister.

“What?” she asked innocently.

“Come on, I’m sure you have something to talk about as far as Max is concerned.”

“Not…really.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I swear you guys, there isn’t much to tell. We’re taking things slow right now, and that’s the way it’s gonna be for a while.”

“Alright, fine. You’re no fun,” Courtney mumbled under her breath. “Maria? How are things on the relationship front with you?”

“Hmmmm…let’s see. Taking care of our daughter…yup, that’s what we’ve been up to.” Everyone laughed slightly. “Seriously though guys, Michael and I really don’t have all too much time for each other, but it’s not so bad. He really is a great father. Always looking out for me, and Carolyn. And he even gets up with me every time she wakes me up at night, even deals with her himself a lot as long as she doesn’t want to be fed. He’s been really great.”

A collective “Awwwww” came from the rest of the group, until Maria threw a pillow in their direction.

“Well, speak of the devil,” Julia said as she saw Michael walk through the hallway and into the family room where the girls were gathered.

“Hey, we were just talking about you,” Tess commented as Michael came up to them with a fussy Carolyn.

“That’s comforting,” he said sarcastically before turning eyes on Maria. “It seems our little girl is ready for her midnight snack,” he said, walking over and handing Carolyn over to her mother. “Night girls,” he said as he left the room. He really didn’t need to be down there while they chatted all night about him and the rest of the guys. No, he’d rather remain ignorant of what they said about him.

“You can go upstairs with her if you want. We don’t mind,” Liz said once Michael was gone.

“Nah…I was just gonna feed her here. As long as you guys don’t mind of course.”

No one objected, so she began to feed Carolyn before getting back to the previous conversation.

“Alright, now who’s next?” Maria asked.

“I uh…actually had a question if you don’t mind,” Julia said timidly.

“Sure, go ahead.”

“Now, if it’s none of my business just say so, don’t feel like you have to answer. But, I was wondering…how did you and Michael get together and how…” Julia trailed off, not sure how to finish her question.

“How did I get pregnant?” Maria finished for her.

“Yeah,” Julia said quietly, suddenly unsure of herself. Maybe she should have just kept the question to herself.

“Sometimes I forget how new you are to the group,” Tess commented. “You must be completely lost half the time.”

“Not really half, but maybe a third,” Julia joked, everyone laughed.

“Well, to make a long story short,” Maria started. “Michael and I were acquaintances who bickered a lot, but started to become friends because of Izzie, then I got drunk at a party, he found me and tried to take me home, but we ended up sleeping together. I wake up next morning not remembering a thing, I was really drunk, and then we started to become close friends. Then I found out I was pregnant, was basically freaked out about it, was about to tell him when he dropped the bomb on me that he wasn’t drunk the night we made love. I got pissed, left town and went home, leaving him a letter telling him about the baby. Finally got up the nerve to call him six months later cause somewhere along the line I fell in love with the jerk, and I mean that in the most loving way possible. He flew out to Nebraska, just a couple weeks before this little one was born,” Maria said looking down at Carolyn. “We decided we wanted to try being a couple, I asked him to move in with Kyle and me when I came back to San Diego and here we are.”

“Wow…that was the short version?” Julia asked amused.

“Trust me honey, you don’t want the long version,” Courtney said, causing all to laugh once again.

“Yeah it’s sure been an interesting year,” Liz commented. “We’ve all kinda had our ins and outs and ups and downs this year.”

“Well except for Alex and Isabel, the original perfect couple.”

“Perfect? Really?” Julia asked amazed.

“As far as I know, they have yet to have a single fight,” Liz replied, “and they’ve been dating for nearly a year now.”

“Wow…has it really been that long already?” Maria asked.

Liz nodded her head in conformation. “She says that Alex is the perfect boyfriend. And you wonder why she isn’t here tonight,” Liz said smirking.

“I’m sure her and Alex are having plenty of fun by themselves,” Courtney commented innocently. All the girls laughed except Julia who sat with a puzzled look on her face. After a moment she put two and two together and her nose crinkled up in disgust.

“Ewww. You guys! I so didn’t need to know that about my brother.”

The girls all laughed at the look on Julia’s face. “Alright, lets change the subject then shall we. Tess, I do believe it’s your turn to share.”

“Hmmm…what do I say about Kyle. He has his stupid moments,” she giggled, “but most of the time he’s a real sweetie. What can I say, I love the boy.”

Another chorus of “Awwwww”s were heard from the group, followed by giggles at their own silliness until Maria interrupted the laughter.

“Alright, well I’m gonna go put this little one back to bed. Be right back you guys.”

“And I’m going to go say goodnight to Kyle,” Tess commented as she got up as well.

“But Tess, it’s like two in the morning. How do you know that he’s still up?”

“Cause he’s been waiting out in the hallway trying to decide whether he should come in for about fifteen minutes now.”

The girls all giggled, especially when they saw an embarrassed Kyle walking slowly into the room to meet his girlfriend. Maria just rolled her eyes at him as she passed. It was great to be able to have fun with the girls again. She had definitely missed this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel and Tess walked out of the government and law class they had together and made their way towards the café, Tess to work and Isabel to get a drink. As they were walking they chatted idly, mostly talking about the plans for Maria’s upcoming birthday. Just as they rounded a corner the nearly ran into a couple, locked in a heated make out session in the middle of full view. The guy had the girl pressed up against the side of the building while he attacked her mouth with a vengeance, pressing their bodies more tightly together with each passing moment. They moved around the couple and continued walking, most likely a little bit faster than before.

“God, don’t you hate it when people do that right in plain site. I mean, I really don’t need to see you sticking your tongue down your girlfriends throat, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah. It’s like, get a room already.”

They continued along for a few moments, before both stopped looking at each other questioningly.

“Was that…” Tess trailed off as they both turned around to get another look at the couple. Sure enough, it was Courtney and Justin.

“I guess they made up,” Isabel commented and the two girls giggled as they continued on their way to the café.

“I’d actually say that that’s what they’re doing right now,” Tess said, as the girls burst into laughter once again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright, I think that’s the last of it,” Alex said dropping off the last of the boxes he’d hauled in from the car. Alex looked around the small dorm room again before turning eyes on his sister. “How you feeling?”

“A little nervous, but okay.”

“Alright, how bout we leave you to get settled in and unpacked and stuff. We’re going over to the mansion for dinner if you want to come?”

“Um…how bout I give you a call later and let you know.”

“Sounds good. Is there anything else you need? You sure you’re alright?”

“Alex!” Isabel broke in. “She’s going to college, not leaving the country. She’ll be fine. Besides…she’s knows you’re just a phone call away.”

“I know, but she’s my little sister. I’m just worried about her.”

“Alex, I’ll be fine. Thank you. I’ll call you later today and tell you everything that happened. Besides, I’m sure you’ll be glad to have the apartment back to yourselves again,” Julia smirked, causing Alex and Isabel to blush. She had recently made it apparent that she knew about the intricacies of their relationship.

“Alright,” Alex said, recovering. “I’ll leave you be. Bye Jules.”

“Bye Alex, thank you,” she said giving her brother a hug before him and Isabel left the room.

As soon as they left Julia suddenly realized she was all on her own. This was it; she was in college now. Who knew what the next few years had in store for her.

“Hi,” a voice broke into her thoughts. A girl stood in front of her with long, wavy red hair and green eyes. Her voice too sounded a little nervous. “My name’s Tammy. I guess we’re gonna be roommates.”

Julia smiled, thinking whatever this year may bring, she’ll just take it one step at a time. “Nice to meet you. My name is Julia…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 63

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ugh! What a day!” Isabel exclaimed as she breezed her way into the apartment, shutting the door with a shove. Backpack and books were quickly dropped on the chair near the door as she threw herself into a semi-dazed Alex’s arms upon the couch, soundly kissing him on the lips.

“Wow, and what do I have to thank for this pleasure?” he joked with raised eyebrows.

“Mmmm…Just the fact that you are an amazing boyfriend and I love you!” she smiled as she leaned in for another peck before making herself a little more comfortable sitting across his lap and in his arms.

“Hard day at school?” he soothed, letting her hair filter through his fingertips.

“People are idiots! Have I ever mentioned how much I hate skateboards before? Some guy on one almost ran over Tess as we walked out of our Government class today. It was ridiculous. And he didn’t even stop to say he was sorry. Asshole!”

Turning around to look at Alex her lips came into contact with his and she finally let all of the frustration melt away at his gentle caresses of her lips.

“Better now?” his voice was husky when he pulled away.

“Much. Mmm…you know I kinda missed being able to just come over and play anytime I wanted. But now, I have you all to myself! Whatever…shall…I…do…with…you?” she muttered between kisses as her hands quickly began to pull at his shirt.

“I think I can come up with something-” with that Alex swung her up into his arms and carried her off to the bedroom, laughing and kissing all the way to the bed.

“I’m definitely glad we got the place to ourselves…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yeah, who’s a pretty girl? Huh? Yeah…you’re such a pretty girl when you smile. Just like your mommy, but don’t tell her I said that,” Kyle whispered conspiratorially to his giggling niece. The two were on the couch in the living room entertaining one another.

Kyle had insisted Maria go out to see Liz since she’d been inside all day not really doing anything except pamper Carolyn. Not that Carolyn didn’t deserve the attention, but Maria deserved a life too. Michael was still at class, so Uncle Kyle had taken it upon himself to play with the little girl.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell her…well I won’t tell her you said it, but I tell her that all the time,” Michael smiled as he walked in. “Hi sweetheart!” he leaned over to give Carolyn a kiss on the head. “Hey Kyle. Where’s Maria?”

“Over at Liz’s. I forced her out the door in a blind rage when she refused to eat my pancakes…ok so really I just told her to get out of the house before she went crazy from being cooped up all day.” Michael had to laugh at that.

“How long did she yell at you for telling her what to do?”

“Only about five minutes…I think she knew she’s needed this as much as we have.” Both boys laughed, they would never fully understand the inner-workings of Maria’s mind.

“Well, since she’s not here, can I talk to you about her birthday?” Michael asked seriously as he sat down on the couch beside Kyle and his daughter.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you wouldn’t mind leaving us alone on her birthday. Just go over to Tess’s or something?”

“Sure, no problem. You want me to take this little one too?” Kyle asked as he kissed Carolyn on the forehead and passed her over to Michael.

“No, that’s okay. I was just thinking that we could have a little family time, alone, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. But if you want me to take her I don’t mind. Then you could really have some alone time…” he wagged his eyebrows and Michael just shook his head.

“Ria and I both know we’re not ready for that yet. Not that I don’t love her, but this little one is more than enough for us to handle right now. We’re just not to that point in our relationship.”

“I know. It’s no problem. Maybe I’ll take Tess out. But just make sure you treat my sister right, man.”

“You know I will.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yes Alex, I’m fine!” Julia smiled as she ate another French fry. Sometimes her brother was just too much. “The dorm is really nice, and I’m actually having a lot of fun so far.”

“So how’s your roommate? Do you get along?” Alex was glad he’d decided to ask his sister to have lunch with him. Maybe they could make it a weekly tradition so that he’d get a chance to spend time with her.

“Yeah, she’s great and we get along really well. You actually just missed meeting her when you left after helping me move in. She’s from a kinda small town too, so we’re both getting adjusted to the big city together.”

“That’s cool. Better then my roommate freshman year, but then at least I met Lizzie and Maria.”

“Well, I don’t know if I have any lifelong friends yet, but I think Tammy might be.”

“So did you want to come over to the mansion tonight? We’re just gonna watch movies or play games or something,” Alex offered.

“Actually, I can’t. I have a date,” Julia admitted with a shy smile.

“A what? Who is he? How’d you meet him?”

“Wow! Slow down boy!” she laughed. She was sure she’d get some kind of reaction from him being as he was always mister protective. “It’s just a date. I met him while Tammy and I went on one of those campus tour things, he was our tour guide.”

“How old is he? Is he driving you anywhere? Do you have any pepper spray?”

“Alex. Relax. It’s my date, and believe it or not I have done this before. Yes, he’s older than me but it’s not like it’s a ten year difference or anything. No, he’s not driving, and no, I don’t have pepper spray because I won’t need it. We’re just going out to play pool with some of his friends at the University Center, so we’re walking from my dorm. Gees, I’m glad you weren’t around for prom! Dad did a good enough job scaring my date by himself.” Julia prided herself on conveniently leaving out the fact that he was a senior, her brother really didn’t need to know that, it was for his own well being.

“I’m sorry, Jules, but you’re my little sister, I gotta look out for you. Just make sure you have Isabel’s number incase you need anything or want me to come get you.”

“I’ll be fine. But I’ll take the number if it’ll make you feel better.”

“Good. Now, what time did you say he was picking you up?” His innocent voice didn’t fool Julia.

“No! I didn’t say. And no, I’m not going to. No way.”

“Aww come on. I’m your brother. It’s not like I’ll do anything, I’m just curious.”

“No.”

“Please?” he pouted.

“Fine! Eight o’clock.”

“You’re lying to me, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied flatly.

“Okay, alright. I get the hint. I just worry about you Jules. Just be careful.”

“It’s our first date; I’m not going to do anything stupid. Besides all of his friends are going to be there. And I’m on campus, so I can always walk myself home.”

“I get it…I get it. I know you’re not stupid. Well, have a good time then.”

“Thank you. I hope I will. And Alex, thanks for stopping before you got to mom and dad level. I don’t need parents out here. But I can always deal with a big brother.” Alex smiled, his little sis was really growing up…it seemed like he missed so much and now all of a sudden she didn’t need her big brother there to protect her from the world.

“Come on; let me take you back so you can get ready for this date of yours.”

“You’re the best!” Julia smiled and when they were both up she gave her brother a hug before walking off to the car arm in arm.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a sunny Friday afternoon when Max walked in through the doors of the hospital and felt the instant blast of cool air, and the crisp smell of antiseptic. Funny how some people hated that smell, but it had never bothered him. He wouldn’t mind working here, not one bit. Yeah, this was definitely a step towards the future; all he had to do was get through this interview.

Max walked up to the nurse at the front desk and told her he was there to see Dr. Katnick, he had an appointment. Immediately the nurse told him to have a seat and someone would be down to get him in a moment.

Sitting down Max found himself thinking about Liz and medical school. Sure, it wasn’t for a few years, but it would be a big commitment, and he was already committed to Liz. He knew what he was like without her and he never wanted to go through that pain and loneliness again. But medical school was becoming more and more his vision of where he wanted his future to go. Would they make it? Would they be in that small percentage that could survive? God he hoped so.

“Mr. Evans?” a tall man in his late fifties was standing near him with papers in his hand and a smile on his face.

“That’s me,” Max stood up to greet the man.

“It’s nice to meet you Max, I’m Dr. Tom Katnick.”

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” They shook hands politely before the doctor motioned them toward the door.

“Why don’t we go up to my office?”

Once they reached the office and Max was sitting down across the desk from Dr. Katnick he began looking around. All of his degrees and diplomas were framed and displayed proudly on the wall behind him. The other three walls had pictures of kids and pictures that Max guessed were drawn by kids. He found it very sweet and homey.

“So, Max, why do you want to be an intern here at Children’s Hospital?”

“Well there’s a few reasons. I’ve been thinking about my future lately and after taking this class on child pathogens this summer, I realized that it was something I was definitely interested in, and it was something I could see myself doing years in the future. I love kids, and I think that to be a pediatrician you need to like kids otherwise the kids learn to not like coming to the doctor.”

Dr. Katnick just nodded his head in approval. This boy was definitely smart, that was obvious from his school records. “What about this internship you had last year? It’s not exactly in the same field as this one.”

“Yeah, that was what I thought I wanted to do for a long time, but like I said, the more I’ve thought about my future, the more I see it going in another direction. The company I interned for before, Ingen, they are offering me a job there now since they couldn’t before, but I’m turning it down because it isn’t appealing to me anymore.”

“What makes you think you won’t get tired of medicine? Medical school’s are very difficult.”

“I don’t know for certain that I won’t, but I can’t imagine it happening. There is so much to explore in the medical field, there’s always new discoveries and new techniques to doing things. Have you ever gotten bored with it in your career?” Max asked.

“Not a single day,” Dr. Katnick smiled, he definitely liked this one. Not only did he have the brains, he had the heart and the spirit to go with it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Julia walked through the door with a slight smile on her face. She went over to her desk and sat down like nothing much had happened and just waited. Tammy was sitting on her own bed with a book open in front of her though she’d been watching Julia. She was waiting for her to say something but since she didn’t she opted to ask.

“So? How was it?” She sat up excitedly when Julia turned around with a smile.

“It was alright. Not the greatest date in the world.”

“So, is Gabe as cute and charming as he seemed when he gave us the tour?”

“Well, not really. But one of his friends was definitely hott!” Both girls shared a laugh.

“So? Tell me about this guy.”

“He had these gorgeous blue eyes that were so piercing…ugh…like what’s his name in Sweet Home Alabama…they were that color. And he had this sexy smile…”

“What’d you do? Did you talk to him?”

“I felt really bad for Gabe because he was the one who’d asked me out. But I did give him my number because he asked for it when my date wasn’t around. Besides, I don’t think Gabe liked me much. When we got back to the dorm, he left me outside saying he’d call me sometime. It was fun hanging out with him and his friends, but I think he thought I was too young or something.”

“But hey, that leaves you free for Mr. Blue-eyes!” Tammy smiled.

“Mmm…definitely!” They erupted into fits of giggles. “Now we just have to find you a guy,” Julia smiled.

“That’s okay. I’m kind of shy, I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on. Are you telling me you’ve never been out on a date before?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tammy shook her red curls off her face in slight embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything,” Julia apologized quickly hoping she didn’t offend her roommate.

“No, its okay. It doesn’t bother me. I was just always busy with other things. I mean, I went to dances in high school, I love to dance, obviously since it’s my major, but I usually just went with my friends. My prom date was a guy I’ve known for like all my life. But I’ve never been on a real date before.”

“We’ll just have to do something about that, but whenever you’re ready,” Julia smiled causing Tammy to smile too.

“Thanks. You know, I was so nervous about coming to school here…being away from home and all. But it’s not so bad. I’m glad you’re my roommate.”

“Me too.”

“And this big city isn’t so terrible either. Yeah, sure it’s a lot different from Tennessee, but I’m definitely starting to feel more at home.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Happy Birthday,” she heard the faint whisper in her ear.

“Mmm…” she stretched her body in bed before opening her eyes to see the two people closest to her heart sitting beside her. It was a great way to wake up.

“Someone was hungry,” Michael brushed his hand over Carloyn’s soft hair before placing a kiss to the crown of her head. When Maria had situated herself in the bed so that she was sitting up, he passed the baby to her.

“Thank you, I didn’t even hear her,” Maria smiled at him.

“Now, what does the birthday girl want for breakfast?”

“Mmm…breakfast in bed?” Maria smiled, eyes twinkling causing Michael’s heart to soar.

“Of course. Nothing but the best for my pixie.”

“Surprise me then.”

“As you wish,” Michael smiled. Leaning over, the two shared a brief kiss before a little cry from Carolyn brought them out of it. “You better feed her, the princess is getting demanding,” he laughed as he walked out of the room to fix a breakfast fit for a pixie.

Maria was rocking Carolyn who was almost asleep again when Michael returned with a tray laden with pancakes and eggs, syrup, salt and pepper, orange juice, glasses, silverware and napkins. Carefully he set it on the end of the bed.

“Here, I’ll go put her back in her crib if you want while you eat,” Michael suggested.

“She might need to be changed first.”

“No problem. We can handle that, can’t we princess?”

“Do you want me to wait for you?” Maria asked as she looked at all the delicious smelling food before her.

“No, that’s okay. You enjoy. I’ll be back soon. Say goodnight to mommy sweetie.”

“Shouldn’t that be good morning?” Maria grinned.

Rolling his eyes Michael carried their daughter away into the nursery.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz was running out of the apartment as Kyle was making his way into the apartment building and when he reached the stairs he almost got knocked down by the whirlwind as she raced past him in haste.

“Whoa! Slow down Liz,” he laughed. “What’s got you in such a hurry?” he called, but she was already out the door as he finished and he received no reply. Shaking his head he continued up the stairs. Sometimes he just didn’t understand girls. One moment they wanted to talk about stuff, the next you could be trying to ask them something and they’d just keep on going and not really notice you at all.

Raising his hand he knocked on the door and smiled at the sight before him. His Tess, with golden blond curls highlighting her pretty face and bright eyes.

“Hey sweetie!” she smiled brightly up at him. “What are you doing here? This is a surprise.” Tess turned and walked into the apartment, Kyle right on her heels as he pulled her beside him down on to the couch.

“I just thought I’d spend some time with my beautiful girlfriend,” Kyle smiled brightly up at her. “And Michael wanted some alone time with Ria on her birthday, so here I am. Now, what do you think about going to spend the day with say, a picnic at the beach?”

“Mmm…sounds good to me, but give me half an hour. I have to finish with something that Liz left…but then I’m free.”

“Yeah, what was with your sister? She nearly trampled me on the stairs when I was trying to come up here.”

“Max called…I don’t know what he said to her but she just kinda yelled at me to do a couple things for her and then was out the door. I don’t know when I’ve ever seen her move that fast before. It was amusing though. I wonder how long it will take her to figure out that her shoes don’t match!” Tess laughed.

“Are you serious? Well at least when she moves that fast no one can tell!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Yeah, thank you mom. I loved the bracelet but you didn’t have to. You really shouldn’t have…”

“So, how is Carolyn getting used to San Diego? Is everything okay?” Maria rolled her eyes at her mother’s quick change of subject but let it go. Expensive birthday presents had never been a part of her life before, so it was unusual, and not necessary, but she still loved it and smiled as she glanced down at the present gracing her wrist.

“Yeah, Carolyn’s great, she’s glad to have her daddy back.”

“I’m glad to hear it. How are things between you and Michael?”

“Okay I guess,” Maria sighed as she curled up on her side on the couch with the phone to her ear. “He surprised me with breakfast in bed this morning. It was perfect. You know, I get to the point where I think I can’t possibly fall anymore, and then he just does something that makes me start falling even more in love with him, its like a bottomless pit, you never hit rock bottom.”

“That’s the way true love is sweetie,” Amy replied simply.

“Did you ever feel like that with my father?” Maria wasn’t sure where that had come from and almost regretted it, but she was still curious.

“Maria, you’re father and I were just kids. Sure, I thought I was in love, but that was before I really knew what love felt like. I loved your father, but in a different way. Not the way that I’m in love with Jim, or the way that I suspect you’re in love with Michael.”

“So…what…I mean… Mom, I want more with Michael. Each day he just shows me more and more how amazing he can be. But I don’t know how…”

“Talk to him. Be honest and tell him what it is you want. We’ve had this conversation before Maria. Don’t be afraid to tell him how you’re feeling. And I’m sure he’ll be honest with you, too. You just have to get it out there.” There was silence on the line for a moment so Amy continued. “It might be hard, but you’ll be glad you did it in the end.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Michael, thank you. Today has been wonderful.” The two were sitting on the back patio looking out at the small flower garden. Maria loved this house; Kyle did a great job picking it out, he honestly did.

“You deserved it. Maria…”

“Michael…” they both spoke at the same time. “You go first.”

“No, that’s okay. You go first.”

Taking a deep breath Maria prepared herself. “Michael, I love you. And I know we’ve said it before, but I need to say it again. I’m in love with you, so much.” She took his hands in her own and looking into his eyes confided her feelings, even allowing a few tears to slip past her cheek. “I want more than just a few kisses here and there and a hug now and then. I love you Michael.”

“I love you too,” Michael’s voice was hoarse with emotion as he lifted a hand to wipe away her tears. “I always have, and I think that’s why I used to pick on you so much, just to get your attention. It was all just kinda worth it to see you with that glint in your eyes and the flush that would rise in your cheeks.” Maria pressed her cheek close against his palm, eyes closed savoring the moment and every word he spoke. “I just…I did some things wrong in our past, and I promised myself I wouldn’t do that to you again. You decide what you want, and that’s what we’ll do. No pressure, okay love?”

Maria couldn’t speak, only managing to nod her head as the tears drifted down her cheeks in rivulets too fast for Michael to wipe them all away. They sat in silence for an eternity just holding one another.

“So what do we do now?” Maria whispered into the soft night air as she scooted her body closer to him for warmth.

“Well, you’re the birthday girl,” he placed a soft kiss to her temple before looking her in the eyes again. “Whatever you want, you get today.”

“Can I get a kiss?” The slight quaver in her voice gave light to her insecurity.

Michael didn’t say a word as he brushed the hair away from her face as his lips leaned forward at an agonizingly slow rate. When they touched it was hesitant at first, like a first kiss. When Maria opened up to him, Michael took control, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pulling her onto his lap as he caressed her lips with his own.

Out of breath they pulled apart, Maria nestling herself snugly against his chest as they both recovered.

When Carolyn’s cry could be heard on the baby monitor they both gave a slight laugh.

“Just like her mom, she’s got great timing,” Michael smiled as he helped Maria up before standing up himself. Playfully she smacked his arm before taking his hand and heading inside; their daughter was fussy and needed them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Patrick, why can’t we have everyone else there too?”

“Because, I just think that they would be more comfortable if it was just family.”

“Oh don’t be silly. Everyone loves a party, dear,” Samantha shook her head like what her husband was trying to say was absurd.

“But I’m just saying, we never officially met this Maria and Carolyn is just a baby. I don’t think they’ll be ready for one of your parties.”

“Our parties, dear, our parties. And I’m not saying we invite everyone, just you know, close friends. The Evans’s. The Harding’s. After all, the kids are all friends anyway. Don’t you think that would be alright?”

“Have you even called Michael and Isabel yet to ask them if they’ll come for Thanksgiving? Maybe they already have plans.”

“They always come home.”

“Yes honey, but Michael has a family of his own now,” Patrick tried to reason.

“I know…I just want everything to be okay again. I’m trying Patrick, I really am.”

“I know Sammy, and I’m sure they appreciate what you’re doing. But let’s just take this one step at a time and invite them first and see if they’re up to having other people around.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria laid Carolyn down to bed that night humming a sweet tune. It had been the perfect birthday, much more than she’d thought it could be.

As she rocked Carolyn she remembered the kiss she and Michael had shared on the back patio. It was a great beginning.

Walking out the door she turned the main light out and left the door cracked open a foot so she could hear anything and walked down the hall to Michael’s room.

Standing in the door way she watched as he stretched up, reaching to the shelf in his closet and coming back down with a small wrapped present in his hand. Maria had to admire his muscles, he was definitely toned, his back and his arms…they just screamed strength.

“Hey spaceboy,” she smiled, “looking good.” Maria loved the slight hint of red that flushed his cheeks at her comment. He never blushed; it was nice to know she had some power over him to counter the incredible force he seemed to envelop her in.

Coming out of his surprise Michael remembered the box in his hand. ‘Now is as good a time as any,’ he told himself. He made his way to Maria’s side, kissing her passionately to the point where she wanted more and then he started pulling back. Leading her to the edge of his bed he sat down beside her and whispered in her ear.

“Is it time for presents now?”

“You didn’t have to…” Maria started to complain but Michael’s mouth silenced her again with a soft chastising kiss. He placed the smaller box in her little hand and another one aside, watching her face for any sign of recognition. He waited with baited breath as she pulled the paper off.

The exact moment when she realized what it was, Michael would remember that glint in her eyes for a lifetime. Lowering himself to one knee he pried the deep blue velvet box from her tight grasp and relaxed her left hand in his. He’d dreamed of this moment since the day he bought the ring but knew he’d done the right thing in waiting for just the right time.

“Maria, you have given the world to me in the year that we’ve known each other, and I can say without a doubt in the world that I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. You’ve taught me what it is to be honest and to have trust in others. You make me want to be the best person I can. Most importantly, you’ve given me a family, a reason for living, a beautiful baby girl that is the perfect image of her mother.” Michael could see the tears at the corners of her eyes as they trickled down her cheek, followed closely by more. Opening the box he picked up the ring in his slightly trembling fingers and held it up to her, but not putting it on her. “Maria, will you marry me?”

A loud sob escaped her mouth as she reached to cover it with her hand. She couldn’t believe this was happening. The ring was gorgeous. It was a white gold band with a petite heart shaped diamond, just the right size to not look gaudy on her slender fingers.

“Michael, I…oh my god,” she couldn’t get over everything. She wanted to answer him but couldn’t talk in complete sentences.

“You don’t have to say yes now. I also got you this.” The other package was revealed and Maria quickly fumbled with the paper to get it open. It was a white gold chain. Michael took it from her and slipped the ring onto it. “When you’re ready, you can put it on your finger, but until then just know that I love you every time you feel this over your heart and that I want to marry you whenever you will have me.” Getting up Michael sat behind her on the bed, brushing her hair aside so he could clasp the chain around her neck and he kissed the clasp for good measure.

“Thank you Michael!” For once in her life, Maria felt speechless, she simply couldn’t find anything more to say to express her emotions at that moment. Turning herself around, she threw herself into his arms, just holding him tightly to her body for minutes on end.

He felt the wetness on his shoulder first before he pulled back to look at his pixie and could see the silent tears dripping down her smiling face.

“Are you alright?” he whispered, not wanting to break the mood, but needing to be sure.

Maria nodded her head in return and wiped away her silly tears with a quick swipe of her hand. “I’m perfect, now.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Isabel!” the bright voice rang in Isabel’s ears as she opened the door to see someone she hadn’t seen in a long time, someone she hadn’t been expecting to see as she opened the door.

“Aunt Keri? Oh my god! It’s so good to see you. Come in, come in!” She pulled the older woman inside and gave her a big hug before they made their way to the living room. Isabel was shocked. She hadn’t seen Aunt Keri in a while and here she just dropped in all of a sudden without even calling. “So, what brings you down to San Diego?”

“Well I have some business meetings on tomorrow and Wednesday so I thought I’d just come down a day early and see my favorite niece and nephew. Where’s Michael? Is he here too?”

“Oh, well, I guess mom and dad didn’t tell you. Michael moved out of the mansion, he’s living in a house with his girlfriend and their daughter and her brother.”

“Wow! When did this all happen? Gees, I go away to London for six months and I seem to miss out on everything that’s happening here,” Keri joked, shaking her long hair back behind her shoulders.

“How was London? Uncle Robert still a night owl haunting all the clubs?” Isabel giggled at the thought. Here her uncle was, in his forties, and last she knew he was still trying to go hang out at the clubs all the time though they were generally filled with a much younger crowd.

“Of course, though not quite so often, I think he’s finally starting to get bored with it,” she winked. “He sends his love of course. So, tell me, how’s school going with you? Any hot guys you’re hiding around here?”

“Hey Is, oh, hey Aunt Keri!” Max smiled as he walked into the room getting ready to leave for class.

“How could I forget, of course you got hot guys around here. It’s good to see you again Max!” Keri loved to joke around with the kids, she’d known Max pretty much since he was a baby, being a friend of the family and seeing as he was always over at the Guerin’s while growing up; she’d seen a lot of him and knew how much it embarrassed him when she said things like that.

“It’s great to see you, but I gotta go to class. See ya tonight Is.” With that, he was out the door.

“He’s definitely grown into those good looks,” Keri smiled.

“Yeah, Liz seems to think so. I do have another guy hiding around here, though not at the moment. He’s in class, but I’d love for you to meet him.”

“Oh, is this the boy your mom was telling me about? The one that was in an accident or something and sent you rushing off to Arizona?”

“New Mexico, but yeah. He’s really sweet and I’m sure you’ll love him.” Isabel got that silly grin on her face that came around whenever she had Alex on the brain.

“I’m sure I will too. Now tell me about this girlfriend of Michael’s…”

“Well, you can meet her if you want. I was going to go see her right now actually, before I go to class.”

“Sounds great, and you can tell me everything I missed in the car.”

Isabel sighed…she didn’t think they’d have that much time, after all the drive from La Jolla to Clairemont wasn’t that long.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel fidgeted in the car as she drove to Maria’s place. She honestly hoped that just dropping in like this with an unexpected visitor wouldn’t bother her friend too much. Besides, she was anxious to see Maria as well. She hadn’t had a chance to see her since her birthday though they’d talked on the phone, and she wanted to see this ring her brother had given to the girl he loved.

It didn’t take them long to reach the house and as they walked up to the door, Isabel watched her aunt. She was staying behind her, as if she didn’t want to get in the way. But the bright smile on her face and light air about her gave off friendly vibes. Somehow Isabel had the distinct feeling that Maria and Keri would get along just great…

Maria opened the door a minute after Isabel knocked, smiles and hugs were shared between them before Maria noticed someone else was there as well.

“Maria, I’d like you to meet my aunt Keri. Aunt Keri, this is Maria Deluca.” Isabel introduced as they all stood in the doorway.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Maria greeted still a little confused as to why this person was there. “Come on in.”

“Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too,” Keri smiled. She could see something in this girl, something that Michael had seen in her as well, she was special.

“Sorry to just drop in and all, but I had to see you since it’s been so long. Now where is it? I wanna see it!” Isabel was excited.

Maria just chuckled at her before pulling the chain from where the ring had fallen beneath her shirt.

“Oh my god! When did my brother get taste? It’s gorgeous…” Maria blushed, but wasn’t too sure why.

“Thanks…I was completely shocked. Did you know?”

“Not until afterwards…when you told me. Some brother, never tells me anything,” Is joked.

“He’s definitely something,” Maria smiled dreamily. She’d been in this sort of haze since her birthday, nothing could really get her down. She loved everything, and everything seemed perfect in her little world.

Keri just sat to the side in the family room and watched as the two girl talked back and forth. That was definitely a nice ring her nephew had picked out hanging from that necklace, not a bad necklace either. So much had happened in their lives that she had no idea of. How was it possible that she was a great aunt and hadn’t known about it? Well, when Michael got done with school she’d be sure he’d hear about this. But now it was time for her to get to know Maria, and maybe Carolyn too…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael sighed as he got out of his car. Why did he have to get assigned three papers in one day? Why? Was the world just out to get him? Maybe it was all just a conspiracy…aliens? No, too crazy, even for him.

Opening the door he heard voices coming from the back of the house so setting his school things down he headed back there. That was definitely another girl’s voice, other than Maria, but no one’s cars were there, and everyone had classes and work, so who was it?

“But he was so much better about it than my step-brother Kyle,” Maria’s voice tinkled with laughter. Oh my goodness, I only had Kyle take me to class once because mom had dinner plans with Jim that night and he freaked out, it was so hilarious, though he won’t talk about it. He even runs out of the room when I mention it!” The two women laughed together at the memory and the images it brought to mind.

“Aunt Keri?!” a surprised Michael asked as he entered the room.

Keri smiled at her nephew and watched the loving welcome he shared with Maria. They’d been talking for a couple hours since Isabel had to leave, and she definitely liked this girl. Maria reminded her a lot of herself when she’d been a carefree college girl, minus the daughter of course.

“How’s my favorite nephew?”

“Uh…fine…what?” he stumbled.

“I thought I’d stop by to visit and Isabel brought me over from the mansion,” she explained with a sly smile. “You’re not disappointed to see me are you?”

“Of course not. I just…what are you doing here?”

“Business…but I had some free time. And apparently I’ve missed so much in your life…I think it’s about time we catch up.”

“Okay…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Well it was lovely meeting you Maria, and Carolyn is a doll!” Keri smiled at her nephew who had an arm protectively around his girlfriend’s waist. “I hope to see you guys soon. Are you all coming up for Thanksgiving?” she asked innocently.

“Uh…I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about that yet,” Michael scratched his eyebrow out of nervous habit.

“I know your parents are dieing to see you three, and I’d love to get a chance to get to know you a little better Maria. You seem to have changed my nephew’s life in the best way possible. Take care, I hope to see you soon.”

After many hugs Aunt Keri left the Guerin/Deluca/Valenti home on Thursday afternoon. She’d spent a little bit of every afternoon with them during her stay in San Diego whenever she could get out of her meetings, and she completely enjoyed the break from work. She couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving and having everyone together…

Michael and Maria just stood in the doorway just looking at each other. It was Maria who finally broke the silence because she couldn’t take it any longer.

“So…about Thanksgiving…”

“I don’t know,” Michael simply shook his head not knowing what to do about his parents. Honestly, he hadn’t even thought about it since Maria had gotten there.

“I…I think I’d like to meet your parents, for real this time, I mean.” Maria pulled him closer so that she could wrap her arms around his waist too, looking up into his eyes. “And I think it’s time they met their granddaughter, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but my mom…” he still hesitated.

“You’re the one who said yourself that she’s been trying so hard to make up for the past. She can’t do that if you keep avoiding her. How would you like it when Carolyn gets as old as we are now if she was afraid to come home?”

“I’d never do anything to make her feel that way,” Michael’s response was immediate. He’d never want his daughter to have to live through any of the heartache he had.

When he refused to look at Maria she reached up with her small hand and held his chin so he had to look at her.

“Michael, your parents can’t take back the past, though I’m sure they wish they could. All they can do is look to the future and make it up to you in the present, but only if you let them. Give them a chance. Give Carolyn a chance to know and love them.”

“But what if they hurt her?”

“I don’t think they will.” Standing on her tip-toes Maria gave Michael a quick kiss to soften his shell if only a little.

“So you would want to go up to LA for Thanksgiving?” he asked.

“I’d love to, as long as it’s what you want too.”

“Well, they haven’t even invited us yet…”

“They’re your parents, do they really have to invite you?”

“With my mom, yes!” Maria just laughed, it was probably true, but still… So it was decided, they were going to spend Thanksgiving with the Guerin family.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex smiled as he knocked on his sister’s door. It was definitely nice to have some family close by. It was Friday and he was coming by to take her to their weekly lunch.

“Hey Alex, just let me grab my purse and put on my shoes,” Julia smiled as she rushed past him after opening the door. Alex just laughed at her.

“Don’t worry about it, take your time. So, where did you want to go? Chinese? Mexican? Italian? Burgers? Pick your poison?”

“Alex, that was funny when we were younger, but…” she trailed off knowing he could figure it out.

“Are you saying I’m not funny?” he sniffled. “I’m hurt…my own flesh and blood…”

“What a baby…gee, and I thought Meg was the drama queen of the family, maybe I was wrong,” Julia laughed as she walked past a pouting Alex and out into the hall.

Twenty five minutes later they were both enjoying their Thai food; spicy food always was a favorite in their family.

“So, what are your plans for the weekend?” Alex asked.

“Nothing much. I think Tammy and I are going to go explore the beaches of La Jolla, and go to the cove, and see the seals and all that good stuff. Plus I’ve got a date.” She couldn’t help but rub it in, knowing that Alex would grimace at the thought but there was nothing he could do about it because she was a big girl now as he’d learned his lesson the week before.

“Same guy as last week?” he tensed, waiting for her response and just praying it was a no. He just hated the idea of his little sister dating someone that was older than he was.

“No, Alex, not Gabe, I promise. We didn’t really hit it off last week.” She had to laugh when Alex let out the breath he’d been holding waiting for her answer.

“Thank god…You’ll probably be better off with someone closer to your age anyway,” he consoled her.

“Thanks Alex, you’re the best big bro.” Julia just smiled, not bothering to mention that this date was with one of Gabe’s friends who was still three years ahead of her in school. Oh well, no need to cause a brother needless worry. In her opinion, she was doing him a favor by keeping him in the dark. It was all for his own good.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmm…” Courtney sighed. She’d walked out of her abnormal psychology class minutes earlier only to find herself pulled to the side as a very familiar mouth descended upon her own, and there she’d been happily since.

“Good morning beautiful,” Justin smiled as he pulled back, still leaving his arms around her waist hugging her close to his body.

“I think that should be good afternoon, but same to you!” she laughed. “So what did I do to deserve such a surprise visit?” she queried.

“Nothing. I just missed you since you ditched me for your old friend last night,” he pouted making Courtney giggle. When he did that he looked just like the beagle she’d had when she was five years old.

“I’m sorry. But Kevin and I were together for two years in high school and he said he wanted to see me since he was in town, and I haven’t seen him in ages…” she babbled.

“What?! You were out with your old boyfriend? You told me you were having dinner with a girl friend,” Justin nearly shouted, dropping his hands from her waist and stepping back, putting some distance between them.

“It’s no big deal, I mean-” but he wouldn’t let her get a complete thought out.

“No big deal? My girlfriend ditching me for her ex is no big deal? Oh, this is great! And when were you gonna tell me?”

“Justin, calm down. It’s nothing…”

“No, see it is something when my girlfriend flat out lies to me to get out of a date only to meet someone else.”

“I never said I was meeting a girl friend. You just assumed…”

“Look, I’ve had enough. Go have fun, run off and frolic with this hot rod old beau of yours. You know what? I don’t know why I didn’t see this coming. Rich LA girls are all the same, I mean, why would you really care about someone when you can just use em and lose em? Right?” Shaking his head Justin sighed and turned his back on a shocked Courtney as he began to walk away.

“Justin! Please! Would you just listen to me?” Court cried out. What the hell had just happened here, she honestly wasn’t sure. It was almost an out of body experience. She could see Justin standing there yelling at her and her own body just standing there taking it in shock. Now she was back in her own body but it didn’t seem like there was anything she could really do.

Why did everything have to be so difficult. She’d thought that she and Justin had something that would last more than a month, but…maybe not…maybe he was just like all those other guys she’d dated. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? Trying to dictate who she could and couldn’t talk to and be friends with? Well screw him! She didn’t need a guy like that dictating her life like he was god!

Letting out a frustrated scream, Courtney threw her arms up in the air before turning around and stomping off to her next class. Great…she had a quiz coming up…just what she needed, stress and anger before a test…damn men…all of them. Life would be so much simpler with out them, wouldn’t it?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 64

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Men are such pigs!” Courtney said with a huff as the slammed the front door. “What gives them the right to think that they can control our lives, huh?” she asked Isabel as she came into the room where her friend was sitting.

“What happened this time?” Isabel sighed, but at the same time tried not to laugh. It really was ridiculous. This was the what…seventh time that Courtney and Justin had fought and broke up in the last month that they’d known each other. What their relationship could possibly stand on, Isabel would never know.

“He has the gall to tell me who I can and can’t see. Can you believe that?” Courtney cried, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.

“I might believe it…if you told me what exactly happened.” One thing that Isabel had learned over the course of Courtney and Justin’s relationship was that most of what happened had to do with one of the two overreacting for some reason or another. It was just a matter of figuring out which one it was this time.

“Alright, so he came and met me just as I got out of my psych class, which was really sweet and all. And then he starts pouting about me canceling our plans last night, and then when I tried to apologize for wanting to see Kevin, since I hadn’t seen him in ages, he goes off on me about me lying to him and blowing him off to go out with old boyfriends and…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Where do old boyfriends come in?” Isabel asked, trying to keep up with Courtney’s mile-a-minute rant.

“Kevin and I dated in high school, remember. Come on, I know we kinda lost touch in high school, but everybody knew about me and Kevin Kelly.”

“Ohhh….the Kevin you say last night was that Kevin?”

“Yes Isabel…get with the program here. Are you hearing anything that I’m saying?” Courtney asked, frustrated.

“Yes, and I think I know what the problem is here. Courtney, why don’t you put yourself in Justin’s shoes for a minute? Don’t you think that you might be just a little upset if he went out with one of his old girlfriends and didn’t tell you?”

Courtney was silent for a minute, seemingly contemplating everything that Isabel had said. “Yes but that would be different, that’s me.”

Isabel eyed her skeptically, causing Courtney to give up. “Okay, maybe I should have told him. But I just didn’t think about it as being a problem. I mean, Kevin and I broke up on completely mutual terms and stayed friends afterward…Justin has nothing to worry about.”

“So, maybe he did overreact a little bit, but don’t you think he has the slightest right to be jealous when you didn’t even tell him who you were seeing?”

“I guess.” Courtney paused for a moment before continuing, “So what do I do now?”

“Well, the way I see it,” Isabel started, always the one to give Courtney advice after her breakups, “you go over to Justin’s and tell him…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Justin heaved himself off the couch at the knock on his door, still upset about the events of earlier that day. No matter how many times he and Courtney fought and no matter how frustrated he seemed to get with her, there was still just something about her that drew him to her. He couldn’t get enough of her. And no matter how mad at her he was, he couldn’t stop the feeling that he wanted her back. And he was starting to think he might have overreacted, just a little, not that he’d ever admit it to anyone.

Upon opening the door, he was only slightly surprised to see Courtney standing behind it. He was sure she hadn’t said everything she’d wanted to say earlier and was probably here to let him have it.

“Can I come in?” Courtney asked hesitantly. The look on Justin’s face was just a bit disconcerting. He looked…tired…like he was tired of dealing with this, with her. Maybe they were a lost cause after all. Perhaps all these breakups were a sign that they were just too different, that they just weren’t meant to be. But hell if that would stop her from trying.

“Uh yeah, sure,” Justin said after some hesitation. He was trying his best not to let her get to him, to stay angry with her, but just one look at her standing in the doorway and all that disappeared. She was just as beautiful, just as alluring as the night he’d met her…and he couldn’t get enough.

Moving aside to let Courtney in, Justin couldn’t help but catch a whiff of her perfume as she passed by. She always wore that scent, and it never failed to evoke feelings in him that he couldn’t ignore. He shut the door behind her and moved passed her to sit in his chair. No sense in beating around the bush, she’d follow him if she wanted to talk. Besides, he needed to put some distance between them if he ever wanted keep a level head about this.

Courtney moved over to the couch slowly, trying to stall as she figured out how exactly she was going to say this. Sitting down, she decided to just get straight to the point and go over what she talked about with Isabel.

“Look, I wanted to apologize for earlier. At first, I was upset that you thought that you could just tell me who I could and couldn’t hang out with, but then I realized that had I been in the same situation, I would have been upset to. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you I was going out with an old boyfriend, but you have nothing to worry about. There’s nothing between us besides friendship anymore and that’s all there’ll ever be. But I realize I should have at least told you, but I want you to know that it was just an honest mistake and that I just didn’t even think to tell you.”

There was a long silence where Justin didn’t say anything, and Courtney wasn’t sure what to make of that. After another moment, she couldn’t hold out anymore, “Well?”

“I just…” Justin started. “ I just need to know that you aren’t keeping things from me. I want our relationship to be honest.”

“I’m not hiding anything. And I agree, we promise to always be honest with each other.”

“Okay,” Justin said, trying not to look at her. He was still upset damnit!

“Okay,” Courtney mimicked, more lightheartedly, seeing his inner struggle. “ And keeping with this honesty theme, I must say,” she got up and walked over to stand in front of him, “that the whole jealousy thing is a major turn on.”

“Really?” Justin asked, not able to keep the smirk off his face.

“Uh huh,” Courtney said, descending to straddle his lap, “Just something about your possessiveness I find completely…arousing.” By the time she said that last word she was completely astride him, her forehead resting against his, and her lips mere inches away from his own. He could feel the soft pants of her breath against his face and he knew he was teetering on the edge of sanity. Oh, the things she did to him.

“So,” Courtney continued, bringing her lips up to whisper in his ear, “Am I forgiven?”

“Completely,” Justin said breathily as he brought his lips to hers finally bridging the gap between them, moving them on to their favorite stage of their relationship…making up. And fleetingly, as Justin brought his lips to hers, Courtney thought, ‘Isabel was right. All that jealousy stuff did get to him.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hmmm…So how was your first day?” Liz asked as she snuggled into Max’s side while they sat waiting for a table. Today had been the first day of Max’s internship at Children’s Hospital and they were going out to dinner to celebrate.

“It was good, but it’s not like I really did all that much. I pretty much just toured the hospital and got to meet some of the patients. It was amazing Liz. These little kids were just so brave, some of them with terminal diseases…it was simply amazing.”

Liz couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face. He was just so animated about it all. She was beginning to think that he had finally found his place. And she couldn’t be happier for him.

“Evans?” They heard the name being called and stood to be escorted to their table. As they walked towards the interior of the restaurant, Liz bumped shoulders with a man they were walking past.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, pausing briefly.

“It’s alright,” she heard, before a surprised, “Liz Parker?”

Liz was afraid to turn around. She knew that voice; it still plagued her thoughts from time to time. Gathering her courage, Liz turned around to confirm her suspicions.

“James,” she replied, almost seethingly.

“My, my, don’t we have a temper. Is that any way to greet an old lover?”

“We were hardly lovers,” Liz replied flippantly, but inside she was terrified; she started trembling slightly. She guessed that Max sensed her distress cause he came up beside her and placed a comforting arm around her, holding her to him.

“You ready to go?” Max asked her quietly, offering an escape.

James spoke before he could answer. “This must be your new guy, huh Liz. You’re wasting your time with this one,” he said, turning to Max. “She don’t put out worth shit.”

“Am I supposed to care?” Max asked, shooting daggers at James with his eyes. James seemed to falter slightly, but stood his ground. “Come on Liz. Let’s go,” Max said, before James could say anything else.

“It was nice seeing you again Liz,” James called to her back. “Lets do this again some time.”

Max and Liz hurried on to the table, where the hostess was standing, looking at them oddly. Once they were sitting in their booth, she told them that their server would be by in a moment and handed them their menus. Max thanked her kindly, before turning concerned eyes back to Liz, who was still quivering beside him.

“Liz, what’s wrong honey? Who was that?” He had a sneaking suspicion, but needed the confirmation.

“Um…” Liz started after a moment, gaining back her composure. “Do you remember when Alex told you about my last steady boyfriend?” At Max’s nod she continued. “Well, that was him.”

“Well are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“I just…I need to talk to you. Um…could we go home?”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The entire way back to her place, Liz hadn’t said anything and Max was starting to get worried. But he figured that he’d wait till they stopped before questioning her. He wasn’t quite sure how to take what happened at the restaurant. He knew that Liz and James hadn’t broken up on the best of terms but…he was starting to think that there was more to this then was originally let on.

Once inside Liz curled up on the couch as Max closed the door and turned on the lights. Tess was over at Kyle’s for the night, so she knew they had the apartment to themselves for a while, giving her the time she needed to talk to Max alone. Still, she had no idea how she was going to start this, but she owed him some explanation.

Sitting down on the couch next to her, Max offered his arms and she accepted quickly, cuddling into the warmth and security that was his body. When she still didn’t say anything for a long time, Max broke the silence.

“Look Liz, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to.”

“No…I need to get this out,” Liz said, letting out a long breath. “Alex told you why James and I broke up didn’t he?” At Max’s nod, Liz continued. “Well, what he didn’t tell you, what I haven’t told anyone until now, was that the night before we went to his parent’s house he…um…well, I don’t really know quite how to say this. We were on his couch, kissing, and I guess one thing just led to another and he had me pressed between the couch and his body. When I realized that things were going to far I…I told him I wanted to stop, but…” Liz took in a shaky breath, trying to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes. That happened a long time ago, she didn’t need to be crying about it now. Max tightened his grip around her, and Liz couldn’t help but feel comforted by the strength his arms provided.

Letting out another deep, soothing breath, Liz continued. “He…uh…he didn’t stop. I tried pushing and pushing against him, but he was so strong…so strong. I’m not quite sure how, but somewhere along the line I was able to grab a vase or lamp or something, I don’t really remember, from the end table and knock him out. I ran out of there before he came to, but that night stuck with me.” Liz sniffled a little and Max held her tighter. He couldn’t believe this guy. How dare he treat anyone like that, especially his beautiful Liz?

“The next day, he came over to my place and begged me on hands and knees to take him back, to forgive him. He said that he didn’t know what had gotten into him, that he must have had too much to drink or whatever. And naive as I was, I took him back and we went to his parent’s that night like nothing had happened. And…well, you know the rest.”

Max tried hard to stay calm and not scream out in frustration over the situation. That bastard! No woman should ever be treated like that. Allowing himself a moment to gain back his composure, he asked the question that had been plaguing him throughout her entire monologue. “But I don’t understand Liz. How come you never told anybody about this? It’s a lot to deal with on your own.”

“I was so ashamed that I couldn’t. So ashamed that I had actually taken him back after everything he did to me, that I couldn’t tell.”

“It’s not your fault Liz. You thought you were in love with him, and it seems like this guy was especially good at conning people into getting what he wants.”

“I know, I just…I didn’t want everybody to think that I was stupid enough to fall for it.”

“You’re not stupid alright. You were smart enough to leave him when you realized his true motives, and I think that took a lot of courage on it’s own.”

“Yeah? Well, it doesn’t feel that way.”

“Why did you decide to tell me now?”

“Cause I knew I owed you an explanation. Remember that night where I freaked out and I told you there was more, but that I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet?”

“How could I forget?”

“Well, when we were…you know…that night, you squeezed my hip and something about the way you did that just brought everything back. And it wasn’t you squeezing my hip in loving gesture anymore, it was him holding me down fiercely, trying to work my pants down my legs. I just couldn’t take it.”

“Oh god Liz! I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Stop it Max. Don’t blame yourself, you did nothing wrong. And I didn’t tell you for the same reason I haven’t told anyone. I didn’t want you looking down on me as the poor, stupid girl who didn’t know what she was getting herself into.”

“I would never look at you like that. I love you with all my heart, and you will always be my sweet, smart, beautiful Liz.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead to attest to his words.

“I know…but I have my moments of self-doubt. But I think that’s why I’m so afraid of a physical relationship…that every time we get there, I feel I need to take a step back. And god I want to be with you…so bad, but it’s just hard.”

“Look at me,” he said, turning her face so that she was looking in his eyes. “I love you, and I don’t need anything from you. We can go as fast or as slow as you want us to go, and I don’t mind taking a step back every now and then if we need to. Just, talk to me about it okay. I want to help you.”

“Where did I ever find you?” she asked, astonished yet again by the man who held her in his arms.

“You had to have been tossed straight into my arms, cause nothing but fate could have brought you to me.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Come on Liz, please?”

“No.”

“You have to tell me. I’ll just die if you don’t!”

“No Isabel, I’m sure you’ll still remain standing, even if I don’t tell you where Alex is taking you for your anniversary.”

“I hate surprises!” Isabel huffed, finally giving up and flopping down on the couch. Max chuckled quietly from his place behind Liz. “You know too, don’t you?” Isabel asked, eying Max aggravated.

“Yup,” he pronounced proudly. “And don’t think you’re getting anything out of me, I was sworn to secrecy.”

“Ugh…Does everybody know except me?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Liz laughed.

“Courtney!” Isabel yelled running out of the room. She’d tell her.

“Can you believe they’ve been going out for a whole year already?” Max asked.

“I know. It’s amazing isn’t it? And Alex never had a relationship that lasted more than like a month till now.” Liz smiled; her friend sure had met his match. But then again, so had she.

“What is it?” Courtney asked from the doorway when she heard Isabel call her name. She was just on her way out.

“Where is Alex taking me for my anniversary?”

“Sorry babe, I don’t know. They won’t tell me. I even tried getting it out of Justin, but he said that Alex promised death if he told either you or me. Apparently, I am the only one not considered trustworthy with the secret.”

“Ahhhhhh,” Isabel screamed out. Once she finally found out where they were going, she was going to kill him for keeping it from her. Damn him for being so thorough!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael and Maria sat on the couch, having just put Carolyn to bed. They were just silently watching TV as both their minds wandered in similar directions.

“So, was I any good?” Maria questioned, breaking the silence.

“What?” Michael asked confused.

“Come on Michael, are we ever going to talk about it?”

“Uh…Talk about what?” Of course Michael knew what she was referring to, but was trying to stall the conversation. He still wasn’t completely comfortable talking about it.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that it was exactly a year ago today that our daughter was conceived.”

“Well, what about it? I thought we’d talked about everything already.”

“I don’t know. I just think we should commemorate it, or something.”

“Commemorate it?” Michael asked, eyebrow raised suggestively.

“Not like that!” Maria shouted, hitting him on the shoulder. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Then what did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. I just thought we should at least talk about it, or something. I mean, instead of us both just sitting here thinking about it and trying to ignore that it ever happened. It’s like…wait a minute. You trying to deter my question, aren’t you?”

“Uh…what question?” Michael asked nervously.

“I asked if I was any good.”

“I…uh…uh…well…I…duh…” Michael stammered.

“It’s a simple question Michael,” Maria teased.

“I…uh, don’t quite know how you want me to answer that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maria scoffed.

“Wait…that came out wrong. Let me try again. Um…uh… Yes?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“No, it’s my turn. You got the baby last time!”

“So, you live with her. You get to see her all the time.”

“So, it’s not like I can ever get them to get out of the house long enough to actually spend time with her. She’s mine niece and it’s my turn!”

“She’s my niece too! And besides she’s only your step niece while she’s mine by blood…so I’m closer.”

“Oh that was a low blow,” Alex commented from the sidelines to Tess as they each watched their significant others fight over who would get to baby-sit while Michael and Maria went on a date tomorrow night.

“Yeah, Kyle’s not gonna like that one,” Tess nodded.

“My money’s on Isabel.”

“Normally I would agree with you, but you haven’t seen Kyle fight on the subject of Carolyn before…he gets viscous.”

“The whole reason I’m living with them is so that I can help take care of the baby, so it’s only logical that I do it,” Kyle went on.

“So, you’re a guy, and everyone knows that girls are better at taking care of babies then guys.”

“I resent that remark and besides it’s my house, my rules. I get the baby,” Kyle punctuated his comment by sticking his tongue out at Isabel.

“Well, we’ll see about that,” Isabel replied, stomping into the kitchen. “Maria!”

“Yes?” Maria asked from the stove where she was making lunch.

“Who gets to watch Carolyn tomorrow?”

“Who did it last time?”

“Isabel,” Kyle was only too happy to reply.

“Then it’s Kyle’s turn.”

“What!?! You’re always on his side,” Isabel pouted. Just then Michael came into the kitchen. “Michael? Who gets to watch Carolyn tomorrow?”

“What did Maria say?” Michael asked. Maria just smiled at that comment and turned to give him a kiss where he was standing behind her. She had trained him well.

“Fine!” Isabel whined, realizing she had lost. Then, “Alex!” she cried, moving back into the living room where her boyfriend still sat. “They won’t let me watch the baby.”

“Ah, it’s alright honey. We’ll make sure we get her next time, okay?” Isabel just nodded and sat on Alex’s lap, wrapping herself in his arms. At least someone was on her side. When Isabel wasn’t looking, Alex handed Tess a five-dollar bill, which she promptly took, beaming, before going into the kitchen to find Kyle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Julia swept into her dorm room with a dreamy look on her face. She was humming quietly to herself before falling down on her bed with a sigh.

“Good night?” Tammy asked from where she was on her bed reading.

“Of course. God, he’s just amazing Tammy, I’ve never met anyone like it.”

“So you’ve been saying,” Tammy comments. “It’s what, going on two months now, isn’t it? You and Ragboy starting to get serious, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess. But he’s been nothing but the perfect gentleman. He um…he actually asked me to go home with him for Thanksgiving and I’m thinking about it.”

“Wow. What’s your brother going to say to that?”

“Well I haven’t decided for sure yet, but he wouldn’t like it. But he’s knows he can’t stop me. I’m a grown adult and he knows he can’t make his decisions for me. Besides, he’s going home with Isabel for Thanksgiving, so it’s not like I would be missing out on going home or anything. And he said I could come with, but I don’t know…I think that might be kinda weird.”

“Looks like you’ve already made up your mind,” Tammy smirked.

“I don’t know. I’m still thinking about it. But I kinda want to. I mean the fact that he wants to introduce me to his parents already tells me that he’s looking at the long term.”

“And that’s what you want,” Tammy replied knowingly.

Julia got a goofy smile on her face, “Most definitely.”

After a minute, Julia got up and left the room to take a shower. Tammy couldn’t help but smile for she could hear Julia humming the whole way down the hall. Her roommate sure was falling hard, she just hoped Ragboy was worthy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmmmm, Kyle,” Tess moaned as he laid kisses down her neck, sending shivers through her body. She loved the taste of him, the feel of him. Her hands were roaming his body in much the same way that his were roaming hers. But it just wasn’t enough. She wanted to see, touch the taut muscles that she felt beneath his shirt, so deftly she began undoing the buttons.

Kyle was on fire. The feelings this small girl was evoking in him were indescribable. She finished with the buttons and tore the shirt down his shoulders, letting her hands roam as Kyle returned his lips to her own, their tongues dueling for dominance. She traced his toned abs, loving the feel of the ridges underneath her fingertips.

Wanting to feel her bare skin against his, Kyle began dipping his hands more and more under her shirt. He tugged on the edges lightly, as if asking permission, and was rewarded when Tess pulled away just long enough to tear the shirt over her head, before returning to his lips once again.

Breaking to catch their breath, Kyle pulled away slightly. He needed to see her.

“Beautiful,” he muttered without a thought, causing Tess to blush slightly under his intense gaze. His hands rested idly at her waist while he looked her over. Meanwhile, Tess was doing a perusal of her own. Finally getting a good look at that fantastic six-pack she had been tracing earlier.

“You’re wearing your Christmas present,” Kyle finally said, coming to the realization.

Tess giggled slightly. “Told you you’d get to see it again some day,” she grinned, her eyes twinkling devilishly.

“You’re going to be the death of me someday, you know that Tess Parker?”

“I plan on it,” Tess said before descending on his mouth again. They were kissing again, just as before, with hands roaming over bodies. Kyle moved a tentative hand up to cup her breast, and at the moan he received, continued his exploration. He ran his thumbs over her sensitive nipples, loving how they tightened under his ministrations.

Tess couldn’t believe the feelings he was stirring in her. His hands were causing a pressure to build deep inside her, and she only wanted more. She couldn’t help but moan under his caresses. His lips left her mouth, and Tess found herself gasping for air. He started traveling down her neck again, laying wet, open mouth kisses there, but then continued on to her chest and the valley between her breasts.

They suddenly jumped apart due to the crying coming from the baby monitor sitting next to them. They both laughed slightly at their reaction and Tess rested her forehead against Kyle’s as they attempted to catch their breath.

“Now I know what Maria meant when she said that Carolyn had the worst timing.”

Tess just laughed. “Some babysitters we are, making out on the couch when we were supposed to be watching the baby.”

“Hey, she was asleep,” Kyle defended, and Tess just laughed again, throwing him his shirt.

“Come on, let’s go see what the little darling wants.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Well thank you Michael. That was wonderful.”

“Well, I try,” Michael smirked as the came up to the door.

They walked into the house and saw Kyle and Tess asleep on the couch in front of the TV. “Do you think we should wake them up?” Maria asked.

“Ah, just give them a few more minutes. Let’s go check on Carolyn.”

So they walked up the stairs to find their daughter fast asleep in her crib. They both laid kisses on her forehead, drawing the blankets up more on her small form, before leaving the room quietly and heading back downstairs.

“So now what?” Maria asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Like, what do we do now? I mean, usually dates end at the front door or shortly thereafter, the couple doesn’t usually live together.”

“They don’t usually have a daughter either,” Michael pointed out.

“True,” Maria relinquished.

“But I guess this is where we stop being a couple out on a date and go back to being parents. So, I had a lovely time Maria. I hope that we can do this again. I’ll call you,” Michael rattled off.

“Okay cornball,” Maria said laughing.

“Now, where’s my goodnight kiss?”

“Quite pretentious are we?”

“I try,” he rattled off her previous response before descending his lips to hers in the long awaited kiss.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Sleepy?”

“Hmmm…a little bit,” Liz replied yawning and laying her head on Max’s shoulder.

“Do you want to leave?”

“No, I want to stay here just a little longer,” Liz said, snuggling farther into Max’s embrace. They were at the beach, just sitting in the sand and watching the waves as they crashed against the shore under the moonlight. It was always a comfort to Liz to watch the ocean, it was a wonder that she ever lived without it in Nebraska.

“Hey, I was wondering,” Max said, breaking the silence, “would you come home with me for Thanksgiving? My parents have been dying to meet you.”

“Ah, you are forgetting Max, your father has already met me. At the Ingen benefit, remember.”

“Yeah, but not officially. And my mom has been hounding me since July saying that she needs to meet you. But I understand if you already have plans…”

“No Max, it’s okay. I would love to go home with you and meet your parents. I have to tell your mother what a wonderful son she’s raised.”

“Great. And we’re going over to the Guerins’ for dinner, so it’ll be fun. The Guerins aren’t even having the whole huge party this year like they usually do, just close friends and family. So it’ll just be us, my parents, the Guerins and probably the Hardings. And most of the group will be there too what with Michael, Maria, Alex, Isabel and Courtney…oh and we can’t forget Carolyn. And then on Friday we can…Liz…Liz?”

When Max didn’t get any response from her, he looked down to realize she’d fallen asleep, cradled in his arms. After sitting there for a few moments, just reveling in the sensation, he picked her up and carried her to the car. Climbing in on the other side he started the car and headed for her apartment. He found himself glancing frequently at her sleeping form; she was amazingly beautiful in her sleep. Like a sleeping angel…his angel.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Can you believe it’s Thanksgiving already? We’re going to have finals soon,” Isabel whined. Where did the semester go?

“I know what you mean. It seems like we just started.”

“Are you nervous about this weekend?”

“No, why should I be? I’ve met your parents before. They’re relatively harmless.”

“I’m glad someone thinks so. Maria’s scared out of her mind…although she hides it quite well.”

“Yeah, well I think her fear is more the ‘Hi, I’m the girl that trapped your son by getting pregnant’ fear.”

“That’s funny, cause they don’t think that at all. They completely blame Michael. I still remember the first words mom said when she found out. ‘Michael David Guerin, how could you knock up that poor girl?’ It wasn’t so funny at the time, but in retrospect…it’s classic.”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine though. Maria’s great at putting up a brave front. And I’m sure they’ll like her…I mean, who couldn’t love Maria?”

Isabel laughed, nodding. “So what’s Julia doing for Thanksgiving?” she asked curiously.

“She’s going home with her boyfriend,” Alex grumbled.

“And you’re not too happy about that I’m guessing.”

“Not a bit. Tried endlessly to change her mind, but she wouldn’t have it. I told her she could come with us for Thanksgiving, but no…she has to go off with her boyfriend. One who I still haven’t met by the way.”

“I think she’s afraid that you’re gonna try and scare him off.”

“I wouldn’t immediately. He would have about 5 seconds to change my mind before I went after him with the sledge hammer.”

Isabel couldn’t help but smile at her boyfriend’s protectiveness. It was so sweet. “She a grown woman you know. She has the right to make her own decisions.”

“As I am constantly reminded, in about every conversation I have with her. I mean, she’s only known the guy for two months; that is so not enough time to judge character.”

“We were only dating for two months when I came to visit you for Christmas,” Isabel reminded.

“But we’d known each other for a month and a half before that…that makes it okay.”

“Uh huh…right. Just admit that you hate seeing your sister dating.”

“I’d be fine if she was dating someone I knew.”

“Like who?”

“Like…like…oh, I don’t know. I guess all my friends are taken.”

Isabel just laughed. “You are so cute when you’re protective, you know that. Although if you ever have daughters, they’re gonna hate you for it.”

“Well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

“Did you just say we?” Isabel asked, surprised.

“Uh…maybe,” Alex said, suddenly nervous. “Why? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No,” Isabel smiled. “Not at all.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, you nervous?”

“Not at all. Your parents raised you, so they can’t be all that bad,” Liz smiled.

Max just sat, still awed by the woman in front of her. She was so calm about this. He for one hated meeting a girlfriend’s parents, especially the father. “ I love you, you know that?”

“Yes I do, but I don’t mind hearing it anyway.”

Max kissed her briefly on the lips, not able to resist, before getting out of the car and running to Liz’s side to help her out. They walked through the front door, hand in hand, and Liz marveled at the huge house, well mansion, the Max had grown up in.

“I don’t think I will ever get used to this,” Liz said, referring to the magnificent house. “I think that sometimes I forget how much money you have.”

“As it should be. I don’t want you to keep thinking there’s any difference between us Liz. I love you and that’s all that matters. Don’t think about the money.”

“I usually don’t, but I’m finding it a little hard to ignore at the moment,” Liz teased. “How many rooms does this place have anyway?”

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know. But I’ll take you on a little tour later, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Max is that you?” he heard his mother call just before she entered the foyer, where they had been standing all this time. “I thought I heard someone come in.”

“Hi mom,” Max said, giving the woman a hug. Then, moving back to stand beside his girlfriend, “And this is Liz. Liz, my mom.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Evans,” Liz said, politely, reaching out her hand.

“Oh please, it’s Diane,” she said as they shook hands.

“Where’s dad?” Max asked, “Up in his study?”

“Yes, but I’ll call him down. He’s been dying to meet you Liz.”

Max and Liz made way into the living room while Diane disappeared upstairs.

“Liz Parker?” Philip said, coming into the room.

“Mr. Evans, it’s nice to meet you again.” Liz stood briefly to shake his hand.

“I though I recognized that name from somewhere, but now seeing your face I remember. You work at Ingen, right.”

“Yes sir, I do.”

“Ah, call me Philip. I don’t know why Max didn’t tell me.”

“He didn’t?” Liz looked confused.

“Must have slipped my mind,” Max shrugged.

“So is that where you two met, during the internship?” Philip took a seat on the couch across from the couple along with his wife, who had a knowing look in her eyes. She knew a lot more of the young couples story than her husband.

“Um, no actually. Max came and sat down in the café where I used to work at the beginning of our sophomore year and he just asked me out.”

“You’ve been going out for that long?” Philip looked surprised. “Max didn’t tell me that.”

“No dad, we’ve…had some problems. We broke up last October and didn’t get back together again until just after the Ingen banquet this summer.”

“So you were broken up while working together on the internship?” Diane asked. “That must have been awkward.”

“It was a little at first,” Liz replied, “but we became friends, so it was alright.”

“Well, I’m glad you two are back together now,” Diane said. “Max can’t stop talking about you.”

“Is that right?” Liz turned to Max, beaming.

“Oh, I completely forgot. We have lemonade and cookies in the kitchen. Let me go get them. I think I forget my head is screwed on right without Natalie.”

“Natalie?” Liz asked, as Diane went to the kitchen, Philip following to help her.

“Our cook and housekeeper kinda. Mom let’s all the servants off for the holidays.”

“Well your parent’s are great Max, I don’t know what you thought I had to worry about.”

“No, I think it’s just that you’re great,” Max said, pulling Liz onto his lap to give her a kiss.

“Max,” Liz giggled. “Your parents will be back in here any minute now.”

“Let them come, I’m not going to hide how much I love you,” he kissed her again.

“Max. Put me down.”

Max shook his head. “Make me.”

“You asked for it,” she said before descending upon his mouth and kissing him like he’s never been kissed before. After breaking apart, she again said, “Now, put me down.” Max nodded dumbly and complied, a glazed expression on his face. Liz giggled, triumphant and gave his hand a little squeeze.

Oblivious to both of them, Diane saw the exchange from the hall and turning to Philip said, “Let’s give them five minutes.” She smiled to herself. She could tell by the way Max looked at the sweet girl beside him, her son was in love.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright. You ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Maria replied.

“Ok. And if my parents say or do something that makes you uncomfortable or anything, just say so, and we’ll leave.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine Michael. Let’s go.”

Michael nodded and walked into the house Carolyn in one arm and Maria by his side. “Thank you Adam,” he said after the butler opened the door for them.

“I was wondering how long you two were going to sit in the car,” Adam smiled. Michael just smirked.

“Where are my parents?”

“In the parlor with Miss Isabel and Mr. Whitman.”

“Thank you.” Then, turning to Maria, “See, Isabel and Alex are already here. So it can’t be so bad.”

“They’ve already met Alex,” Maria muttered as the walked in the direction of the Parlor.

They came up to the door and saw Alex and Isabel sitting on one side of the room, the Guerin’s on the other. They hadn’t noticed them yet.

“Mom, Dad,” Michael announced. “This is Maria Deluca.”

“Oh Maria, it’s so good to finally see you again,” Samantha gushed, grabbing the young girl in a hug. “How are your parents?”

“Um, they’re good, thanks. Mr. Guerin,” she acknowledged, shaking his hand.

“And this is our daughter, Carolyn Renee,” Michael announced proudly, holding up the little girl in his arms.

“Oh, how precious,” Samantha started. “Can I hold her?”

“Of course,” Maria said, signaling for Michael to hand his daughter over, somewhat reluctantly.

“She’s beautiful Maria,” Samantha said as she cradled the little girl in her arms, rocking her back and forth.

“Thank you.”

“Just like her mother,” Michael commented quietly, but the whole room heard him.

Carolyn’s eyes began drifting closed and Samantha sighed, smiling. “I think she’s sleepy.” Just then the maid came in to say that dinner was ready to be served. “Oh great, you two were just in time,” Samantha commented, handing her granddaughter back to Maria.

“Do you have some place I can put her down while we eat?” Maria asked.

“Yes, we had Michael and Isabel’s old playpen brought out and it’s in the living room, right next to the dinning room.”

“You still have that thing?” Michael asked surprised. He was seeing a side of his parent’s he’d never seen before.

“Why of course dear. We wouldn’t get rid of that. We were saving it for when you guys had children of your own. You’re welcome to have it if you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Maria said, as Michael led her into the living room. She didn’t know what Michael was always complaining about, his mom was being amazing. She was certainly turning over a new leaf from the stories she’d heard about Samantha Guerin.

Having put Carolyn down, they sat at the dinner table and started in on the first course.

“So Maria, Isabel tells me that you and Michael are living together now?”

“Yes, we share a house, along with my step-brother Kyle.”

“Really, doesn’t that get awkward?” Samantha asked. It did seem odd.

“No, he’s there to help us with the baby, especially next semester when I go back to school.”

“Which bothers Isabel to no end,” Michael laughed.

“Why is that dear?” Patrick turned curious eyes on his daughter.

“Cause I never get to watch the baby,” Isabel sighed, Maria laughed.

“You watch her just as much as Kyle. Don’t worry, I’m keeping a tally,” Maria joked.

Everyone at the table laughed and silence again took them over. Samantha, as usual, was the one to break it.

“So when are you two gonna get engaged?”

Michael nearly spit out his soup, “Mom!”

“I was only asking a simple question,” Samantha defended herself.

“Mom it’s…”

But Maria cut him off. “No Michael, it’s okay.” Then turning to the Guerins, “Michael already proposed Mrs. Guerin, I’m just not ready to accept yet.”

“I don’t understand,” Samantha said, looking between her son and the mother of his child. She thought they’d worked everything out. “You said no?”

“No, I didn’t really say much of anything, Michael completely understood. It’s just that Michael and I just got together after everything that’d happened. And although I love him, I’m just not quite ready to make the commitment to be his wife…yet.”

Michael squeezed Maria’s hand under the table, and she smiled up at him.

Samantha Guerin saw the look that passed between them and couldn’t help but smile. “I see,” she replied, letting the subject go. “So Alex, how is your sister doing?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tess stirred awake and looked at her watch. 1:00 am. Shaking Kyle awake from where he sat behind her, holding her, she giggled at the half glazed, sleepy look on his face.

Once Kyle got his bearings, he turned to Tess. “What time is it?”

“One. We must have fallen asleep.”

“You think?” he replied smartly. They had an early flight home to Nebraska, so Kyle was staying over at Tess’s that night. They had fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie earlier.

“Come on,” Tess started, pulling him off the couch, “let’s go to bed.”

“I can sleep on the couch if you want,” Kyle offered. Not sure how comfortable she was with sharing the same bed.

“No, it’s alright.” They walked into Tess’s room and crawled into bed, having already changed into their pajamas earlier that night. Tess set an alarm for five o’clock and snuggled into Kyle’s embrace, and promptly fell asleep. Kyle watched Tess sleep for a moment, then laying a tender kiss on her forehead, lay his head down beside her and fell asleep as well.

Hours later, the ringing of the alarm clock brought them out of their deep slumber, and Tess groaned hitting the snooze button.

“Morning,” Kyle said, kissing her cheek lightly.

“Morning,” Tess sighed, comforted by the warmth of his arms.

“I like waking up like this.” Kyle pulled her tighter to him, loving the feel of her in his arms.

“Me too,” Tess started. Then, a little shyly, “But …I’m not ready for…”

Kyle cut her off, “I know. And it’s okay. I’ll wait forever for you.”

Tess turned to look at him, eyes beaming. She couldn’t ask for a better guy. He never ceased to amaze her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 65

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria walked around the large room carefully cradling Carolyn in her arms. The twinkling stars and bright moon shone through the window draperies casting a soft glow across her daughter’s innocent young face. She marveled at how much her world had changed in a little over a year. She’d gone from a hard working student trying to survive and make something of herself in order to help support her mother whom she’d left behind, to being a mother of her own trying to make a family out of them with no more money problems and having more family of her own than she ever thought previously possible.

“Time flies sweetie,” she cooed softly. “Just don’t grow up too fast, okay? I don’t know if I could handle that. I just want you to stay like this, my sweet little baby girl forever.” A smile played on Maria’s lips as she realized how silly she was being. But her life was coming together better than she’d ever thought, and she just wanted it to stay that way.

“Yeah, they tend to grow up fast, before you even realize it,” an older voice spoke from behind Maria, startling her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in, but I heard her before and thought I’d see if you needed anything.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Maria smiled up at Samantha Guerin. It was a surprise, but she welcomed it. She knew there was more to Michael’s mother than he gave her credit for. “She just needed to be changed, but now she’s all better. Aren’t you sweetie? Would you like to hold her for a minute?” she asked knowing very well the answer. No one could resist a baby.

“I’d love to.” Maria passed the baby over and watched the look on the grandmother’s face as she rocked the baby. “She’s getting so big! She must eat all the time.”

“Yeah, don’t I know it. Now it’s pretty much every three hours, though it used to be every two so I guess it’s an improvement.”

“Yeah, Michael was the same way. Every two hours for six months! He was such a demanding baby,” Sam laughed.

“Some things never change,” Maria smiled thinking of her boyfriend, though he wasn’t so bad, she kinda thought it was cute.

“I think she’s asleep now. Should I lay her back in the crib?”

“Thanks. And thank you for all the baby stuff you’re letting us use.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m a pack rat, I never get rid of anything. I have all the kids things up in the attic from when they were babies through high school. You can feel free to look through some of the stuff with Michael and if there’s anything that you would like, it’s yours.” Suddenly Maria saw Samantha in a whole new light, now if only Michael could see it.

“Does Michael know about all the stuff up there?” Maria asked curiously.

“I don’t know, I guess no, he probably doesn’t. It just never came up.”

“I think he’ll be surprised, and it might make him a little less harsh.” She didn’t want to meddle in family business, but Maria had a feeling that there might be a way to make Michael realize even faster that his parents weren’t so bad as he thought, that they had always cared, even if they didn’t show it properly.

“Well our family has had its problems, and we…I did screw up with Michael, but I always loved him and Isabel with all my heart. I only want what’s best for them. And I can see that you have done wonders for my son. I’m glad he’s lucky enough to have you in his life.”

Maria wasn’t sure what to say to answer that.

“I’m lucky to have him too.”

“Welcome to the family Maria. You’re welcome here any time. Now get some rest, tomorrow is a big day!” With a smile and a motherly kiss on the forehead for both Maria and Carolyn, Samantha passed out of the room clicking the door shut in her wake.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, how are you handling everything? You seem to be surviving well,” Alex smiled as he sat beside Maria on a couch in the den. No one else had arrived at the Guerin’s yet, but they were due around three, so it wouldn’t be too much longer.

“I’m good, great actually. I don’t know what you were all talking about. Samantha seems very nice, and she adores Carolyn.” Maria smiled remembering her late night visitor. Really everyone had warned her needlessly. “Besides, I’d met the Guerin’s before. Sure they didn’t know who I was at the time, but I knew who they were.” Thinking a minute Maria spoke with a slight chuckle. “Honestly I think Samantha completely blamed Michael for me getting pregnant and just thought of me as a poor unfortunate, but now I know she really is proud of her son. Every time she looks at him or Carolyn she just has this glint in her eyes, but Michael doesn’t see it.”

“He’ll come around soon,” Alex offered.

“I’m sorry, I’m just boring you here. So how are you doing? It seems like ages since we last sat down and talked.”

“Hey, it’s not my first time being introduced to the Guerin’s, so I’m great,” he smiled as big as he could as if to demonstrate. “See, you’re the newbie, which means that they can forget about me and the prospects of me stealing their little girl away since they have you to think about.”

“Alex! So, you’re gonna steal their little girl away huh?” Maria couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s dramatics.

“A handsome, dashing guy like me? But of course, m’lady!”

“Someone needs to get over himself. So does that mean we just need to think of some distraction for you to get you to lighten up on Julia?” Maria knew she was touching a sore spot, but she felt the need to help out.

“Maybe I deserved that because of how I’ve been acting…”

“Got that right! Alex, no offense but if you were my brother I would’ve hurt you. She’s a big girl.”

“But…as I was going to say before I got interrupted…I know Julia’s an adult and she’s smart, she can make her own decisions and that’s good enough for me. I know she’ll be fine this weekend, I just wish I would’ve gotten the chance to meet him first. I mean, hell Isabel and I were going out for a while before I met her parents.”

“But she met yours at winter break last year, that’s not that much longer you know.”

“I know,” Alex sighed, she wasn’t making this easy by pointing out the truth.

“Besides Alex, if you had acted like this in the beginning, and been accepting, then you probably would have met him before now. She wouldn’t have been afraid of introducing him to you, but you scared her off by being so protective.”

“I know.”

“I’m sure if you apologize when you get home she’ll accept it and you’ll meet him sooner or later if it really is that serious.”

“Thanks Maria.”

“No problem,” she flashed him a big smile. “Dr. Deluca to the rescue.”

“Doctor?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah. If I get my doctorate in psychology that will be Dr. Deluca to you,” she smiled brightly happy to be of service.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Michael, will you be a dear and answer the door for our guests?” Samantha Guerin asked her son.

“Of course mother, don’t I always?” Michael rolled his eyes. It was always him and Isabel who got stuck with door duty, but since there were only a few guests he was the only one…no fair! Not that he really minded except for the fact that it left Maria and Carolyn all alone and at his family’s mercy.

Glancing at Maria first she nodded her head that she was fine before he walked to the door as the bell rang announcing their first guest’s arrival.

“Aunt Keri!”

“Oh Michael, it’s great to see you again. Still the little doorman, though I suppose not so little anymore,” she laughed softly.

“Happy Thanksgiving Aunt Keri. You’re the first one here. But they’re all in the lounge. Can you do me a favor and make sure mom behaves herself? Not that I don’t trust her but…I just don’t want her making Maria uncomfortable…you know”

“No problem,” Keri smiled with a shake of her head. She could plainly hear the worry in his tone. Her nephew seemed truly concerned so she’d humor him, though she didn’t believe she’d have to do anything to keep Samantha in line. “I think I can handle that. Now I do believe there’s a little girl somewhere in here for me to spoil, so I must go find her.” Holding up a little pink bag in her hand as proof, she continued down the hall in front of Michael.

Michael just shook his head. Yeah, his daughter was gonna be spoiled…what was he thinking? She already was spoiled.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Evans’s had arrived shortly after Aunt Keri and there were warm introductions all around. The Guerin’s didn’t know Liz, as the Evans’s didn’t know Maria, Carolyn, or Alex. Everyone was friendly and relatively well behaved. Samantha Guerin surprised her family most of all by happily taking Carolyn into her arms and introducing her around to everyone as “my first granddaughter, isn’t she beautiful?”

Maria just looked on with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Michael, giving him a hug. She wanted him to know that he would always have a family that loved him and was proud of him. And no one could deny the pride in Samantha’s eyes that afternoon.

The Harding’s made a late appearance at nearly four o’clock. When she walked into the lounge Isabel could immediately tell that something was wrong with Courtney. Once the Harding’s had settled in and everyone was happily conversing, Isabel wandered over to the spot beside her friend and ventured to find out what was wrong.

“Happy Thanksgiving Court. So, where’s Justin? I thought that he was coming with you.” The fire that immediately burned in her eyes gave Isabel her first clue as to what was wrong.

“He’s not coming,” Courtney bit out harshly, almost snottily.

“Again? Oh dear lord! What happened this time?” Isabel closed her eyes so Courtney wouldn’t see her rolling them at her. She just didn’t understand how their relationship functioned when all they ever seemed to do was break up and make up. Or, maybe that was it; you know what they say about making up…

“Can we not talk about it now? This is supposed to be a fun holiday and I just want to forget about it and him. Besides he’s the one who needs to do the apologizing this time, cause for once it completely wasn’t my fault.”

Isabel caught her drift and just nodded her head.

“No problem. Dinner won’t be ready for another two hours, and the boys are out back throwing around the football. Maria and Carolyn have been commandeered by mother for all the introductions, so what do you say we go rescue her and watch the guys from the back porch with Liz?”

“Sounds good, it’s so nice outside today, I’m just loving it! It’s great when you can wear tank tops on Thanksgiving and still be warm.” Courtney was glad for the reprieve and jumped at the chance to get away from the stuffiness indoors.

“I know! I was hoping for the warm weather cause there’s so much more to do.” They reached the adults and Isabel tapped Maria on the shoulder with a smile. “Sorry mom, but we’re gonna have to steal Maria away, girl talk, you know.”

“Thanks guys,” Maria smiled in relief. “There’s only so much adult conversation I can take.” They all laughed as they sat down on the stairs gazing at the guys before them getting all hot and sweaty. “Hey Lizzie. Don’t drool all over your clothes there chica,” she laughed at her friend who finally tore her gaze away from her boyfriend’s body and managed to blush as she realized she was no longer alone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The dinner bell rang promptly at six o’clock and everyone made their way to the dining room with hungry stomachs fed by the aroma of the delicious food awaiting them. Once they were all seated and drinks were poured all around Patrick stood up and cleared his throat to be sure he had everyone’s attention. It was a special moment having everyone together, and he felt the need to say something special.

“It’s so great to have all of our friends and family here with us today. You all may know that I am a man of little words, so I’ll make this brief. I’m happy to have you all here today. Having friends and family gathered close is a comforting thing, and we do have something to celebrate with our son, whom we are so proud of, and his new family. All of you children, we are so proud of you. Your futures are so bright this is just the beginning of your lives. Just remember that nothing is more important than family and being surrounded by those that you love and care for. Now let’s enjoy this meal and give thanks for all that we have been blessed with in our lives.”

Patrick sat down beside his wife placing a hand over hers on the table and giving it a gentle squeeze. Samantha smiled leaning over to his chair and kissing his cheek lightly and whispering to him how much she enjoyed his impromptu speech.

Michael was amazed at his father’s words and sat there silently, chin hanging slightly agape. Maria rubbed her left hand up and down his right thigh, pouring her love into him. Deep down he loved his parents because they were his parents, but so many things had happened between them that he’d suppressed it. Now it was coming back out again.

Halfway through dinner Carolyn started fussing in the playpen set up in the corner of the dining room. Maria sighed, she’d hoped to get through the meal without needing to feed or change her, but apparently Carolyn wasn’t on the same wavelength as her mother yet.

“Excuse me,” she said to the others as she rose from the table to tend to her daughter. Michael started to get up as well but Maria shook her head no, telling him not to worry about it. After all, it was his family; he should get to spend as much time with them as possible.

Picking Carolyn up, she headed upstairs. Michael joined her awhile later. They had finished dinner, though there was still food downstairs for Maria if she wished.

“You look beautiful,” Michael honestly spoke as he regarded mother and child pacing by the window.

“I think she’s finally sleeping.”

“I’m sorry, I could’ve taken care of her…”

“No, she needed her mommy. I think all the delicious smells made her hungry,” she laughed.

“Well okay then. Everyone’s downstairs if you want to join them. I think Aunt Keri wanted to talk to you. She really likes you.”

“I like her too. She was telling me stories about when you were a little boy...”

“Uh oh. Well she used to be my favorite aunt,” he joked.

“Michael!”

“I’m kidding. I suppose that’s what family is for anyway, to tell embarrassing stories. I know your mom told me some good ones...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey, where’d you disappear to?” Alex asked as Isabel came up beside him, kissing him like she’d been wanting to all evening, not even caring that her parents could be watching.

“Court and I just needed to have a little girl talk, that’s all.”

“Aww…I don’t get to join the fun of girly moments?” he pouted making her laugh.

“Sorry honey, but it was strictly girls only. Maybe next time.”

“Okay…” Wrapping his arms around her waist he brought her to rest leaning against his chest on the couch. “So are all your holidays like this?”

Isabel looked around the room. Michael and Max were messing with something while Maria and Liz were talking with Courtney and all the other women. As for the other men, they were probably in her father’s game room or something.

“Well, usually there’s more people, associates of my father’s and such. But this year just close friends and family. It’s more special this way, I like it.” She snuggled herself further into Alex’s embrace. “You know it’s funny. Being here last night, sleeping in my old room, it just feels so strange.”

“You mean sleeping in a big bed all by your lonesome self?” Alex mocked, earning himself an elbow in the stomach.

“Okay, sorry. But I missed you too,” he groaned.

“I just…it’s my parents home and…”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize or anything. Isabel, it doesn’t matter if I can sleep with you or not, I still love you, and I always will. I’m after one thing Izzie, and that’s your heart.”

Isabel felt the tears but wiped them away from her eyes. She felt silly for crying, but her boyfriend was the most sweetest thing ever, it was almost too good to be true. But then again she’d been through so much she relished it. He treated her like a queen, and it was just his nature, not an act, and she loved it.

“I love you too Alex. I love you too,” she whispered as she kissed him again, this time with more hunger than she’d dared to show before, parents or no parents.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The sunlight reflected off her perfectly white teeth and the brightness in her eyes. He had to admit she looked so happy…like nothing in the world could drag her down, as if she was on top of the world.

“I had a great time. Sure I missed you and everyone else, but it was still fun. LA is such a big city,” she gushed. “The lights are so bright, and there’s just so much to do and to see…and we even went to Disneyland. It made me feel like a kid again, but it was okay cause after all, it is the happiest place on earth. And his parents were so nice too. At first his mom was unsure cause he said she thought I was like fifteen or something, but once she found out I wasn’t she was perfectly polite. His dad was a charmer, sweet old man, you know…kinda like daddy. So see, there was no need to worry about me, I’m fine, promise.” Julia smiled at her brother and he could see that she was practically glowing with excitement over how she’d spent her short break. Like it or not, his sister was happy with this guy he had yet to meet.

“I’m glad Jules, really I am. And I’m sorry for how I acted before. I had no right to try to tell you what you could and couldn’t do. I just worry about you, I’m your big brother and that’s my job,” Alex looked down at his food before looking back into his sisters eyes. “But I really would like to meet him. I promise not to scare him off, honest.”

“Thank you Alex, you have no idea how much this means to me. I’ve never liked a guy as much as I do Andy. You promise to behave?”

“Of course, would I lie?” Alex smirked.

“Yeah…well just the same, how about I invite him to the Christmas party Isabel told me about at the mansion?”

“What, you think I need my girlfriend to act as a chaperone to meet my sister’s boyfriend?” he sounded astonished and Julia just rolled her eyes at his dry humor.

“Not necessarily, but I think he’ll be more comfortable with more people around so he’s not constantly faced with your intimidating presence.” She tried not to laugh as she said that last bit but it was difficult.

“Well, I can be quite a bad ass when I want to be.” Alex puffed up his chest in demonstration and Julia just couldn’t hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing. “What? I was serious!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz sighed as she cuddled back into Max’s arms. The sun was shining brightly overhead, smiling down at the students in the courtyard, but all that Max and Liz noticed was each other. Their friends laughed at how the two of them could just block out the world around one another, but they did. Had they been paying attention they would’ve seen Courtney and Justin off to their left having another one of their famous ‘getting back together’ moments. But they only had eyes for one another.

“Did you really have fun with me and my parents last week?” Max seemed surprised.

“Of course I did. You’re parents are great.”

“I’m glad you thought so, cause they like you too.” Liz blushed slightly at the compliment. It meant a lot that his parents approved of her. It was better than some of her past relationships… “I was talking to mom on the phone last night and she asked when I was going to bring you back up,” he laughed as he remembered the conversation they’d had on the phone.

Max was only child and so figured his mom liked the fact that there had been another girl around the house for the holiday. It had been amazing having Liz there in his opinion and he’d love to bring her around more often if she was okay with it.

“Well I loved your parents Max. Now I can see where you get everything from. You’re just as charming as your father, with your mother’s kindness and perfect manners.” Liz turned herself in his arms so she was looking into his eyes and playfully pinched his cheeks as if he were a little five year old.

“Hey!” he laughed and retaliated by tickling her sides.

“Okay, I give!” she burst when she couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Max?” Liz asked breaking the silence that had fallen over them in the last few minutes since the tickle episode.

“Hmm?”

“Do you think…I mean…would you want…” Liz shook her head and mentally berated herself for being so silly. This was Max, her boyfriend, the guy she could tell or ask anything. “I really wanted to spend Christmas with my family since I didn’t get to see them very long over the summer, and I was wondering if, maybe you’d want to go back to Nebraska with me? I mean, I’ve met your parents, it’s only fair that you meet mine. Besides, daddy keeps asking when he’ll get to interrogate this guy I’m always talking about…” she rambled.

“Liz!” Max got her attention, successfully silencing her.

“Yeah?”

“I’d love to spend Christmas with you and meet your family.”

Liz’s smile grew ten times bigger as Max watched her face, happy to be the reason behind it all. Throwing her arms around his neck, Liz covered his face in kisses before planting her lips securely on his and melting into his arms. God she loved him…and nothing was ever going to change that again!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel smiled as she looked at her friends around her as they walked through the mall. They had decided to have a girl’s day out, Christmas shopping and talking to take their minds off of the impending finals that were bringing stress into all their lives. To her left was Courtney, and then Maria and Liz and Tess. To her right was Julia and her roommate Tammy. Though she didn’t know Tammy too well, she seemed like a nice girl. Julia had brought her around a few times to the mansion and everyone seemed to like her, so she was becoming enveloped into the group as well.

“Don’t even worry about finals,” Isabel offered to Tammy and Julia. “As long as you go to classes and study decently, you’ll be fine. Just don’t flip out or that’ll make you panic, and no one does well when they panic.”

“Yeah, this is only my second round of college finals,” Tess looked sideways with a smile. “But they aren’t as bad as they’re cracked up to be. Before you know it they’re over.”

“Thanks guys, I’ll keep that in mind,” Julia responded. She couldn’t thank them enough for getting her out of the dorm room today, for she had been scaring herself about the impending exams. But this was a great refresher, and she was sure Tammy agreed.

“Oh!” Isabel exclaimed as she stopped in front of the store window, making everyone stop with her, to look at the item on display. “I’d love to have that…” she voiced her approval out loud.

“Are you serious?” Courtney asked.

“There is no way I’d be caught dead wearing that…that!” Liz gestured frantically toward the repulsive object.

“How would you even put that on?” Tammy twisted her head in a couple directions but still not figuring it out. The girls all snickered at that.

“Well, Merry Christmas Alex!” Maria laughed to Tess.

“Mmm…I really don’t need to hear about my brother like that…ya know?” Julia winced. Sure, she knew what she’d interrupted between her brother and his girlfriend when she’d been staying at his apartment, but that didn’t mean dwelling on it was her first priority, and having pictures of it painted for her, that definitely wasn’t called for.

“Come on guys, it’s cute,” Isabel stood up for her choice. “Doesn’t anyone else think so?”

“It’s not so bad…but then again, I’m a mother, it’s okay for me to say stuff like that. But you little missy,” she turned to Isabel, trying her hardest not to laugh. “You are much too young to be thinking about wearing something like that!” All the girls burst at that point into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

“Oh please, you’re like a year older than me.”

“So I’ve got maturity on my side.”

“Whatever you say…” Everyone just shook their heads as they began to walk past the windows once more.

“So, Maria, what’s my brother getting me for Christmas?” Isabel asked in excitement as she drew up alongside her friend.

“Can’t anything be a surprise for you?” Maria returned.

“Oh, come on. Please?” she whined. “I know he told you.”

“How would you know that? I mean, honestly Izzie, he hasn’t. But I don’t think he’s gotten it yet either cause he hasn’t really had any time for shopping.”

“But he always gets it way ahead of time and hides it in his closet or sock drawer cause he thinks I won’t look for it and find it. It’s just what he does, he’s Michael.”

“My god…what’s wrong with surprises? I swear I don’t know what Michael’s getting you, but I know that Alex already got your present,” Maria grinned evilly looking at Liz over Isabel’s shoulder with a wink. After all, the present was hidden in Liz and Tess’s apartment.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So Julia, are you really gonna do this?” Tammy asked as she painted Julia’s nails ‘passion fruit’ red.

“Yeah. I mean, Alex has been begging me about it, and I think it’ll just be easier after he meets him. Besides Andy introduced me to his family but he hasn’t met any of mine, and he only knows you and other friends from school. We talked about it and I asked him to come with me to the Christmas party and he said he’d love to.”

“Some girls have all the luck. I don’t know how ya managed to find ragboy, but he’s definitely a keeper,” Tammy smiled.

“I know…”

“Oh gees, don’t go all starry eyed on me again,” she rolled her eyes while stifling the chuckle rising in her throat. “All I have to do is mention him…” she muttered to herself.

“Sorry,” Julia blushed. “So, are you coming to the party too? You’re welcome to come if you’re not doing anything. The girls love ya, you’re the newest addition to ‘the group!’”

“Hmmm…am I supposed to feel privileged by that?”

“Well, they are very selective you know.”

“Oh, really…then I’d be honored to be part of ‘the group!’” They both giggled. “But I’m leaving right after my last final, remember? My parents want to go visit my grandparents and so I have to leave right away. But I’ll call you, and you can call me, I gave you my phone number, so you better call and tell me all about it!”

“Sure. What’ll I do without you for so long?” Julia whined. She’d definitely miss her roommate, they’d become so close in the last three months.

“You’ll survive, I promise. You’ve got lots of great friends, and I’ll be a phone call away.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Can the finals be over yet?” Liz whined as she walked into Maria’s house and flopped on the couch.

“Hello to you too,” Maria whispered as she rocked Carolyn in her arms. “Rough day?”

“YES! And I have to be at work in two hours, plus I have another final tomorrow at noon…and I haven’t seen Max in like 3 days!” Liz rambled on.

“Couldn’t you get out of work? I thought they realized you were a student?”

“Yeah, but I want to be able to go home for Christmas, and I can’t take finals week off as well.”

“Just don’t kill yourself chica. You scared me last year, don’t try and do it again.”

“I know…I’m fine, honest. I just want to complain, and I figured you’d listen. Everyone else just tells me to be quiet cause they have finals too,” she pouted.

“Poor baby. But I already have to listen to this little one crying, why should I listen to you?” she joked.

“Cause I’m your oldest and bestest friend and practically your sister and you love me more than life itself?”

“Nice try…”

“I thought so,” Liz shrugged her shoulders.

“So, have you told your parents that you’re bringing a surprise home?”

“Yeah, and they can’t wait to meet him. Or, okay mom’s excited about meeting him, and she’s hiding any sharp knives or blunt objects from daddy…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So you called your mom?” Michael asked as he pulled Maria back to rest against his chest as they lay comfortably on the couch together.

“Mmhmm…” Maria purred as his hands ran through her hair, softly massaging her head. “She said they’d love to come out here for Christmas since its so cold back there in the middle of winter.”

“Sounds like we’ll have a full house…” Michael smiled placing soft kisses along the back of her neck and succeeding in making her insides turn to mush. “My parents said they’d love to come down for Christmas Eve and stay a few days. I figured I’d give them my room and stay in the nursery with Carolyn.”

“Yeah about that. I was wondering if…well so that mom and Jim could stay here, would you…maybe…share a room with me and Carolyn?” Maria immediately began berating herself for how stupid that sounded. “I mean…you don’t have to…I mean…I just figured that we could share my bed and bring Carolyn’s crib in there so that mom and Jim could have some privacy. I don’t want them to have to stay at a hotel when they’re coming to see me. And Isabel’s gonna be sleeping on the couch….so…”

“Maria,” he whispered in her ear getting her attention enough to silence her and make her turn to face him. Taking the opportunity he took hold of her lips, ravishing them and staking claim to them as his own. “That sounds fine. I just wasn’t sure that you’d be ready for such a thing.”

“I want to, besides, it’s not like anything’s going to happen, Carolyn will be a few feet away.”

“I love you,” Michael smiled as he pulled her face nearer once more.

“I love you too, Michael, completely.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 66

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alex!” Isabel shrieked. “Alex!”

“Hold on honey, I’m right here. Calm down,” Alex said soothingly as he came up behind her.

“Uh, where have you been? There’s so much to do and almost no time to do it in. There’s still over half the decorations to put up, cookies to be made, someone has to go pick up the food trays from the store, we haven’t even put the tree put yet and…”

“Hey, hold up. Don’t worry about it. We still have a few hours.”

“A few hours? A few hours!” she screamed in exasperation. “Alex, this is going to take more than a few hours I mean, come on. I knew we should have put up the tree last
night!”

“Alright Izzie, look at me. Take a couple of deep breaths. Everything is gonna be okay. Courtney’s in the shower and she’ll be back down here soon. And Max will be back any minute now with Liz, so there’ll be five of us and we shouldn’t have any problem getting everything done,” Alex said comfortingly. “And as for the tree,” he added, “we kinda got a little…distracted.”

Isabel blushed, remembering exactly what had got them so distracted.

“I like that I can still make you blush after all this time,” Alex smirked.

“I still hold that it was all your fault,” Isabel announced, recovering. “If you had been able to keep your hormones in check we wouldn’t have this problem, now would we?”

“Is it my fault I want to spend some time with my girlfriend before we’re apart all Christmas break?”

“Yes.”

Alex took on a wounded look and Isabel just laughed, giving him a quick kiss before moving to look over her ‘to do’ list. Alex looked over her shoulder, taking a quick glance at the paper. It didn’t look too bad. They would have no trouble getting everything done in time.

“Well you can cross off those two,” Alex said pointing. “I already sent Rosie out to get the food and she volunteered to work on the cookies when she got back.” Just then he heard the door open, indicating Liz and Max had just come home. “And Max and Liz can work on the tree while we put up the rest of the decorations. Okay?” Alex massaged her shoulders to help her to relax.

“Mmmm,” she moaned, enjoying the attention. “Okay. I think I can handle that.”

“Good,” Alex said, stopping immediately, much to Isabel’s dismay. “Alright, lets get this show on the road then. I’ll get Max and Liz to start on the tree in the other room and then I’ll bring back some of the decorations so we can get started.”

“What would I do without you?”

“You’d probably still be pulling your hair out over getting everything done.”

Isabel laughed and Alex went in the other room to talk to Max and Liz. A few minutes later, he was coming back in as he threw over his shoulder, “Now don’t make me have to come back in there and separate you two,” he kidded. “We’re on a schedule here.”

He came back into the room to find Isabel in the same spot she was in when he left. “Now look who’s the lazy one.”

“Just one little kiss first?” she pleaded.

Alex just laughed. “Oh, I suppose.” And then added under his breath, “As if I could say no.”

Alex leaned over her for one kiss. But one kiss quickly turned into two, and two to three, and so forth until Alex finally pulled away, breathing heavily. “Alright, now that time it was definitely not my fault.”

Isabel just laughed before getting up as they began decorating the rest of the house for the upcoming party.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Just a minute,” Julia called as she folded the shirt in her hand, sticking it in her suitcase before heading towards the door. Opening it, she was only slightly surprised by who she saw there. “Hey baby,” she said, giving him a quick kiss before ushering him inside. “What are you doing here?”

“Is that all the hello I get?” Andy pouted, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

“I’m sorry,” she teased, coming over to give him a proper hello. She kissed him more thoroughly this time, and just as he was getting settled into the kiss, his arms sliding around her waist, she pulled back, eliciting a groan from him. “Now, what are you doing here?”

Andy sighed, “I’m picking you up. We have a party to go to, remember?”

“Yes but you are,” she leaned over to look at her clock, “three hours early.”

“Well, I was bored and…”

“You were bored?” she challenged.

“Will you let me finish?” he asked, exasperated. At her nod, he continued. “I was bored AND I missed you. And since you said that you were lonely ever since Tammy left to go back home I figured I’d come keep you company.”

“Oh, ok. I guess you can stay then,” she replied, going back to what she had been doing when he arrived.

“So, whatcha doing?”

“Packing.”

“Oh,” he let out, somewhat disappointedly. “How can you possibly be going home tomorrow? I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“Ah, I’m gonna miss you too. But it’s only for a little while. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I doubt it,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?” Julia asked, not hearing him.

“Nothing. Is there anything I can help with?”

“Not really. You can watch tv or something, or you can just sit there and look cute and distracting.”

“Hmmm…I pick door number two.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Julia laughed, going back to her closet to pick out more clothes. Even in her baggy sweatpants and tank top she still looked beautiful to him. Somehow he doubted there was anything she could do that would make her any less enticing. It still amazed him how much she was able to get under his skin. If you had told him four months ago that he would find himself in a serious relationship with essentially the girl of his dreams, he would have laughed in your face. But now…he couldn’t imagine what he’d do without her.

“Hello! Earth to Andy!” her voice finally broke through his thoughts. Once she realized she’d gotten his attention, “It’s about time. Where did you go?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking. What did you need?”

“I asked what you thought I should wear tonight,” she repeated as she walked around the room getting all of her shower supplies together.

“Hmmm, how bout the black dress. Oh wait, the red dress with the strappies. It’s Christmas, you’ve got to wear the red dress.”

“Ok,” Julia said, pulled the aforementioned dress from her closet and getting everything else she needed together. “Alright, I’m going to go take a shower.”

“I’ll join you,” Andy announced teasingly.

“Funny,” Julia replied dryly, coming back over to the bed. She gave him a quick kiss before gathering up her stuff and heading towards the door. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes tops. I’m sure you can entertain yourself until then.” And with that she was out the door and walking down the hall towards the bathrooms.

“Entertain myself huh?” Andy said out loud to himself. “What oh what can I do?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Boy am I glad that finals are over,” Liz announced to the group.

“You’re telling me,” Kyle sighed. “And I thought my finals at the JC were bad.”

Tess rubbed Kyle’s back comfortingly from where she sat beside him. Kyle replied by pulling her closer into his side. It still amazed him that they’d been together for over a year already. It often seemed like just yesterday that she’d agreed to go out with him and he’d thought he was the luckiest guy in the world.

“The party can continue, I’m back,” Maria announced coming down the stairs. Carolyn had been getting sleepy, so she’d just put her down for a nap. There were a few laughs around the room as Maria made her way over to sit next to Michael where everyone was in the living room listening to Christmas music.

“So Maria,” Courtney started, “You ready to start classes again in January.”

“I guess, I mean I am kinda tired of being at home all day. But, I’m not completely ready to give up being with my daughter all the times. It’s gonna be weird going back.”

“Now you know how I felt,” Michael pouted, and Maria just smiled, leaning her head on his chest.

Conversation stopped only momentarily at the ringing of the doorbell. “I’ll get it,” Tess said, jumping up and moving towards the front door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Make a right up here,” Julia said motioning towards the street the mansion was on.

‘Duncan Ct.’ Andy read the sign as he turned onto the street. That name sounded familiar for some reason, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

“It’s that one right there,” Julia pointed to a building on their left.

Andy whistled. “You’re friends seem pretty well off,” Andy replied, commenting on the size of the house.

“As if you aren’t,” Julia rolled her eyes as they parked and got out of the car. They walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell and Andy took a deep breath.

“You’re not nervous are you?” Julia asked, an amused smile on her face.

“Just a little. I am meeting your brother for the first time after all.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s harmless really, he just likes to act tough. And he promised me he’d be nice to you. Just relax.”

It was then that Tess opened the door to greet the new guests.

“Julia, hey girl.” Tess gave her a hug before turning towards who she only assumed had to be Julia’s boyfriend. “And you must be Andy. I’m Tess, it’s nice to finally meet you.” She shook his hand.

“Likewise,” Andy smiled, taking Julia’s hand once again in his own. Tess turned around heading back into the living room, leaving Julia and Andy to follow.

“Ready?” Julia squeezed his hand.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Andy let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding and walked with Julia towards the room that Tess had just entered. He really hoped that Julia’s brother liked him. He knew how much her family meant to her. He was determined to make a good impression. Holding his head high he walked into the room, Julia by his side and his heart nearly stopped as he looked around the room and recognized the people in it.

“Hey guys. I’d like you all to meet my boyfriend, An…”

“Andrew,” Michael seethed, cutting her off. Looking around the faces in the room reflected a mixture of anger, surprise and confusion.

“You know each other?” Julia asked confused looking between her boyfriend and Michael.

“Uh, you could say that,” Andy said softly, dreading what he knew was coming.

“And you could say a lot more. Get out of my house!” Michael yelled.

“And away from my sister,” Alex continued finally finding his voice. He made his way towards Julia, pulling her away forcibly.

“Wait. Alex wait!” Julia pulled away from him. “Would someone please tell me what’s going on here? How do you know them?” Julia pointed that last question at Andy.

“Look, I can explain…” Andy started, but Michael cut him off.

“What is there to explain? You raped my sister you bastard.” A collective gasp was heard around the room, some faces looking more surprised then others.

But no face showed more surprise or hurt than Julia’s as she took a step back from where she stood beside him. She took a step back, more towards her brother. “I…but I don’t understand. That can’t be true,” Julia glanced over to Isabel, seeing the blank look on her face. “Could it?” she turned back to Andy.

Andy just stared at her, not saying anything.

“Is it?”

He still just stared, his eyes unmoving. What was he supposed to say?

“Andrew Grant Sorenson you tell me right now. Is what he says true?” she yelled, tears threatening to fall.

Andy just hung his head, knowing he’d lost. There was no getting out of this one. “Yes,” he said the one word quietly, it tasting bitter on his lips.

“I think we’ve heard enough,” Alex pulled the shell-shocked Julia more closely to him. “Now get out of here and I don’t want you near my sister or Isabel ever again.”

“Wait Julia, you have to let me explain…”

“I think we’ve heard enough from you,” Michael moved towards Andy, ready to force him out the door if necessary. This guy had caused more than enough hurt to his friends and family, he’d be damned if he left Andrew around to cause anymore. “Get out!”

“Julia please…”

“Andy,” his heart lifted at her voice, but then it was dropped in the next second and smashed to a million pieces. “I think you better leave.”

“But…”

“You heard her, leave,” Michael was beyond being patient. He descended on Andy, grabbing his arm.

“Okay, okay,” Andy shrugged him off. “I’m leaving. Please Julia, just call me please. I promise, I can explain everything. Please.”

“Out!” Michael yelled.

“I’m going,” Andy yelled back. “Just call me,” he said one more time to Julia’s turned back. She couldn’t even look at him. That was all he could see as he walked out the front door, her back turned on him. And there was only one thought that kept running through his mind, ‘I’ve really lost her.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Julia. Julia, it’s okay now. He’s gone.” Alex said, trying to rouse her from her present state of unresponsiveness. She’d spent the last few moments simply starting at the fire burning in the fireplace, her back turned toward where her boyfriend had once been standing. “Julia?” Alex continued.

Julia suddenly took in a deep breath, gasping. “I need some air,” she said quickly before running out of the room and out to the back porch.

Alex started after her, but Maria stopped him. “No, I’ll go. You’re probably not exactly the person she wants to see right now, and if you talk to her while your angry like this it’s only going to upset her more.”

Alex nodded reluctantly and watched Maria exit the room, following in the direction his sister had gone.

Maria stood just inside the door, seeing Julia sitting outside on the porch swing, sobbing with her face in her hands. Giving Julia a few more moments to herself, Maria opened the French door slowly.

“Hey,” Maria said quietly as she stepped outside.

Julia looked up, wiping her tear stained face. “Oh, hey Maria,” she sniffled. “What’s up?”

“Look, you don’t have to play brave with me okay. I know you’ve got to be hurting.”

Julia sighed, her tears having subsided a little, but every once and a while one would still run down her face. “I just…I don’t understand. He was always so perfect. So nice, so considerate.”

“Sometimes appearances can be deceiving,” Maria said quietly, rubbing Julia’s back in slow circles.

“But…what we had, it really meant something, you know?”

“I’m sure it did. But isn’t it better to learn this now, than to find out later? Isn’t it better to know what he really is than to go on living the lie?”

“I guess. But god I was so in love with him.”

At Julia’s admission, Maria had nothing to do but hold the girl in her arms and try and convince her it would be all right. The minutes wore on and Maria held a sobbing Julia in her arms, offering to be her shoulder to cry on.

When Maria came back into the living room, alone, Alex tried to go out to talk to his sister, but Maria stopped him. “She needs some time alone right now. Just give her a few minutes. She’ll be back.”

And indeed she was. About ten minutes later, Julia came back into the room and everyone tried to return to the party. But it wasn’t the same, as now there was a dark shadow looming over everyone’s head, and it couldn’t be ignored.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alex, I kinda wanna go home.” Julia announced shortly after they had all exchanged gifts.

“Okay, cool. Can you just give me a few minutes to say goodbye to Isabel?”

“No, it’s okay. I want you to stay. I’ll just take the car and drop by my dorm to pick up my stuff, then go back to your place.”

“You sure you’ll be ok? I can come.”

“No Alex. I kinda wanna be alone right now anyway. Just give me the keys. Isabel can give you a ride back right?”

“Yea, sure. You sure your alright.”

“I’ll survive,” she sighed. “I’m just kinda tired.”

“Okay. I love you,” Alex said, giving his sister a kiss on the cheek before handing her the keys. Julia thanked him, before walking out the front door towards her brother’s parked car.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She’d planned on going home, back to Alex’s. Really, she had. But somehow she now found herself standing outside Andy’s apartment. She didn’t know why, but something inside her just had to give him a chance to explain himself. She still found it hard to believe that he could ever do that to another human being, even after hearing it from his own lips. There had to be something else.

She knocked on the door, gathering up the courage to do what she was about to do. She needed to know what really happened. She wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if she didn’t.

“Julia,” Andy gasped, opening the door. Truthfully, he hadn’t expected to hear from her ever again, let alone so soon. “Uh, come in,” he offered lamely. Not really knowing what to say.

Coming in Julia got right to the point. “You wanted a chance to explain, so here I am. Go,” she said with confidence, when in reality she was trembling inside. But she didn’t want him to see that.

“Okay. I don’t really know where to start.”

“Why don’t you start by telling me what happened between you and Isabel. Everything.” She did her best at playing it cool, trying to stay as far removed from the situation as possible. She couldn’t let him know that she was hurting, that he affected her this much.

But Andy could see the tear stains on her face. He knew he’d hurt her, and suddenly he wondered how he ever thought he could explain this away.

“Alright, Isabel and I dated for a year, ending about sixteen months ago. I’m not exactly proud of the way I treated her, I wasn’t exactly the best person in my past. I cheated on her countless times, and on the last night we were together I did essentially rape her.”

“What do you mean ‘essentially’?”

“I was drunk, we were drunk. Very drunk. The next morning, when I woke up I realized what I’d done and it was terrible. I couldn’t believe that I’d actually done that to her, to someone I loved. And I knew it had to stop. I had to get her away from me. So, I hurt her. I told her that I didn’t want her any more, that I’d found someone else. I hurt her so she would never come back to me, no matter how much I begged her later. I needed her to stay away so I couldn’t hurt her anymore.”

“Is that all?”

“No, unfortunately there’s more.” Andy took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before starting again. This was the kicker. “When I drank, I…I had a tendency to let my temper get the better of me. I…I hit her on occasion, but then the next day I would realize what I had done. I would always go crawling back to her, begging her forgiveness, because I loved her. And miraculously, she always took me back. Sometimes I wish she hadn’t. But it wasn’t until that night that we slept together that I finally realized what I was doing to her. I realized that being around me was doing nothing but hurting her, and so I did what I had to do, and let her go, drove her away.”

“Did you ever tell Isabel why you did this? Why it happened?”

“No, I only ever told you.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“I tried…so many times. But every time that I tried bringing it up, all I could imagine was losing you. Just like I’m doing right now.”

Julia nodded her head. “I uh…I have to think.”

“I understand,” Andy let his head drop to the floor as she stood up off the couch across from him and moved towards the door. “I love you,” he said as a final thought. “Just remember that, please.”

Julia didn’t turn back, but paused momentarily as if in recognition of his statement before continuing on. Andy watched on as the love of his life walked out of his door for what he was sure was going to be the last time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Max, what is that?”

“A shirt,” Max says mockingly. After the party had ended, Liz wasn’t quite ready to go home, so she agreed to stick around and help Max with his packing before he took her home. They were leaving tomorrow to go visit his parents for a couple days before flying out to Nebraska.

“Uh huh. And you don’t see a problem with that.”

“No. Sorry Liz, but as much as I’m sure you would just love for me to go around topless, I’m not going to meet your parents that way.”

Liz just laughed at his naiveté. “Don’t think so highly of yourself. I was referring to the fact that you were packing a t-shirt to wear in Nebraska in the middle of winter. Need I remind you that it’s cold in Nebraska? That it snows in Nebraska? Now put that away and go pull out your sweaters.”

Max mumbled something unintelligible and went back to his closet, returning the offending item and grabbing some warmer clothes.

“See that’s more like it,” Liz commented seeing the sweaters he had in his hand. “What would you ever do without me?”

“I would be utterly and completely lost,” Max replied without thought. “And I wasn’t referring to my packing,” he finished in a whisper sending shivers down Liz’s spine.

“How do you do that?” Liz asked a moment later, after he’d returned to his packing.

“Do what?”

“Know just what to say to get me all hot and bothered, and then just return to whatever you were doing like nothing happened?”

Max dropped the item he currently had in his hands and sidled up next to where she sat on the bed. “So I got you all hot and bothered huh?” Max asked huskily, threading his arms around her waist and bringing his lips closer to graze her neck.

“Stop it! You’re supposed to be packing,” Liz protested, his proximity causing the heat to rise in her body.

“Hmmm. I can think of many things I’d much rather do than pack.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe this.” Max laid a wet, open-mouthed kiss on her neck. “Or this.” He moved higher on her neck, this time sucking the skin into his mouth lightly. “Or maybe even this.” Max moved his mouth to hers, claiming it with a deep passionate kiss.

They stayed like that for a while, exploring the depths they knew so well, but would never tire of. Eventually, Liz pulled away, nipping his bottom lip playfully one last time before returning them to reality.

“Alright, pack now. Play later.”

“Ah, do I have to?”

“Yes, now get cracking or there will be no playtime for you.”

Max immediately jumped into action and Liz couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Come to think of it,’ she thought as he was moving around the room, ‘I really wouldn’t mind if he walked around topless all the time.’ That thought sent Liz into another fit of giggles, leaving Max to look in confusion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Andy. He was all she could think about. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get him off her mind. She’d laid awake all night examining every aspect of their relationship looking for something, some sign that she should have seen, something that would have suggested this latest news that tore her world apart. As of yet, she had come up completely dry.

This morning she had told herself she wasn’t going to think about it. That she would put it out of mind for the time being, let her brain rest for a bit, and harp on it later. That resolution was proving difficult, no impossible, as she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him for a single minute since she’d learned the truth. It was quite frustrating, not having one’s mind to one’s self. Really even…

“Hey Jules. Uh, you might want to slow down,” Alex’s words interrupted her thoughts.

“Oh, uh sorry.”

“She speaks!” Alex exclaimed jokingly. “That’s the first words you’ve said to me all day.”

“Sorry,” Julia replied sheepishly. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

Alex nodded his understanding and the car remained silent for a few moments.

“You know,” Alex started, breaking the silence, “everything’s gonna be okay. You’re a smart, funny, beautiful woman and there’s thousands of guys out there that are just dying to go out with someone like you. You’ll find someone else. Someone who really deserves you. I bet…”

“Alex,” she stopped him. “I really appreciate you trying to make me feel better and all, but I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Alex nodded and backed off, leaving her to her thoughts. She loved her brother, really she did. And she knew that he was just trying to help, but this was something she just needed to work out on her own for now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mom, Dad. We’re here!” Max yelled as he and Liz walked through the front door.

“Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re home,” Diane said, coming up to her son and giving him a hug. “How was your trip?”

“Not too bad. Where’s dad?”

“In the other room, with your grandpa. And how are you doing Liz?”

“I’m good, thank you Mrs. Evans.”

“Stop it with this Mrs. Evans business, I told you to call me Diane.”

“Wait, Grandpa’s here?” Max asked, his mother’s comment finally registering.

“Yes dear,” Diane laughed. Max had always been very fond of his grandfather. “He’s in the living room with your father.”

“Come on Liz,” Max said, pulling her after him. Liz couldn’t help the smile that took over her face at his excited look.

“Grandpa!” Max exclaimed as they finally reached the room his dad and grandfather occupied.

“Maxie boy? Is that you? Wow…look at you. You’ve filled out a lot. Not near as scrawny as your father was.”

“Hey,” Philip warned in mock hurt.

“Eh, you know I’m kidding,” Robert Evans brushed off. “How you doing boy?” he asked as he reached his grandson to give him a hug.

“I’m good…great even. Grandpa, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend Elizabeth Parker. Liz, this is my grandfather, Robert Evans.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Liz said politely, shaking her hand.

“Likewise. Well, my son said that my Maxie had got himself a girl, but he didn’t say she was such a looker.” Liz blushed so he continued. “Say, what are you doing with my grandson anyway?”

“Grandpa!”

“What? I was only kidding. No really sweetie, he’s a great kid, loyal as they come and he’ll always be good to you.”

“Grandpa, I already got her. You don’t have to try and impress her for me.”

“Oh whew. You had me worried for a second there. Cause she’s quite a catch and I wasn’t sure my charms were gonna be enough to win her over.”

Liz laughed at the exchange between Max and his grandfather. They seemed really close, and she loved getting to see the ‘family’ Max. It made her think about what Max would be like when he was a father…a grandfather. The thought brought a smile to her face. Yeah, she wouldn’t mind seeing that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh, why thank you Max. It’s absolutely lovely,” Diane gushed over her Christmas present. Since Max wasn’t going to be home for Christmas the family was exchanging gifts now before him and Liz left for Nebraska tomorrow.

“Liz helped me pick it out.”

“Well then thank you too Liz.”

“I really didn’t do much,” Liz replied modestly. “Max already had it picked out, I just helped with the color.”

“Well thank you anyways. And I think there’s just one more. Liz, this is for you from Philip and myself,” Diane said, handing Liz a flat, rectangular box.

“Oh, you really shouldn’t have,” Liz explained flabbergasted. “I mean, I never even expected…”

“Hush, we wanted to. Just open it. I hope you like it.”

Liz unwrapped the box carefully, taking off the lid to reveal a single slip of paper. Taking it out of the box to examine it more closely she realized it was a voucher.

“It’s for a day spa,” Diane offered, “the full treatment. The voucher is for two…so I was thinking that maybe you and I could go sometime, or you can go with one of your girlfriends or whatever. I just thought you might like it. Every girl likes to be pampered every now and then.”

“Thank you Diane. I would love to go with you sometime. It’ll be fun.”

Later on as all the presents were unwrapped, dessert had been eaten and everyone just sat around the fireplace talking, Robert watched Max and Liz with a curious eye. He saw the glances they shot each other, the quick kisses they would sneak when they thought no one was looking, and just the general comfort they seemed to show around each other. It was no doubt the look of two young people very much in love. Not unlike the look he’d once shared with his beloved Emma.

He would never forget the love he shared with his wife, and if he wasn’t mistaken, Max and Liz shared that same kind of love. ‘Don’t let her go my boy,’ Robert thought to himself. ‘Don’t let this one go.’

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t want to go!”

“Ah Tess, honey. I don’t really want you to go either, but I know you want to see your family,” Kyle tucked Tess’s hair behind her ear lovingly, keeping his hand resting on the side of her face. Now that he’d gotten used to her being around all the time, it was making it that much harder to say goodbye.

“Yeah, but we’ve always spent the holidays together. I don’t want to be apart from you.”

“It’s not for too long. You’ll be back before you know it.”

“I doubt it. I’m going to spend half the time bored out of my mind. I’m stuck with the lovebirds remember?” Tess pouted.

Kyle couldn’t help but laugh. “But see, that’s exactly why you have to go. You want to see Max sweat about meeting your father don’t you?”

“Dad’s not that bad. You met him, and if I remember correctly it wasn’t too traumatic an experience.”

“True. But Max doesn’t know that.” Kyle had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“What did you say?” Tess accused.

“What makes you think I said something?” Again with the mischievousness.

“I know you and I know that look. What did you say?”

“Just that Mr. Parker is very protective of his girls.”

“That’s true, but it’s not like Daddy does anything. He’s perfectly nice about interrogating you and evaluating whether or not you’re good enough for his daughters.”

They both laughed before hearing the announcement of the final boarding call over the loud speakers. Tess was flying up to LA, where she would catch up with Max and Liz and they would all fly out to Nebraska together.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Tess said, leaning up to kiss him one last time.

“Mmmmm, I’m gonna miss you too. Wow, how did we do this long distance thing for so long?”

“I don’t know, but I for one can’t stand the thought of being away from you that long ever again.”

“Me either. You better go now or you’ll miss your flight.”

“So what if I do?” she challenged.

“I’m not letting you miss your flight because of me. Now go on.” Kyle gave her one last, lingering kiss and then a light shove in the direction of the gate. “I love you,” he called after her retreating figure.

“I love you too,” she yelled back, blowing him a kiss before disappearing from sight.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So here we are?” Max said as he pulled up into the driveway of the unfamiliar house.

Liz sighed. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

“It’s perfect,” Max replied, squeezing her hand comfortingly. He’d been expecting this. No matter how much he tried to assure her, Liz was still uncomfortable about the money that stood between their families. Liz knew he didn’t care, but for some reason she just couldn’t forget the gap that existed between them.

Max leaned over to give Liz a reassuring kiss, trying to convey all the love he’d always felt for her, and always would.

“Uh…feel free to finish this sappy moment guys,” Tess spoke up from the back seat, “but I’m going inside.” And with that she was out of the car and away from the lovebirds. She knew her and Kyle were no better. But still, this was her sister; she didn’t need to see Liz make out with her boyfriend.

Tess walked in the house and yelled for her parents. “Mom, Dad, I’m home!”

Tess met her parent’s halfway to the family room where they exchanged their hugs and hellos.

“Where’s Liz?” Nancy asked.

“Oh, she’s in the car with Max.” At the look on her father’s face, she continued. “They’ll be in in a minute. They just need to work out all their insecurities.” At the subsequent odd look on her mother’s face, Tess further explained. “Max is nervous about meeting daddy, Liz is nervous cause Max’s family’s rich. Blah blah…yadda yadda. I’m thirsty, I’m gonna go get a drink.”

Tess left the room to go to the kitchen, leaving her parents to share amused smiles just before Max and Liz walked in the door.

“So, you guys finally decided to join us,” Nancy said teasingly.

Liz just smiled, “Hi to you too mom,” as she gave her a hug. Moving onto her father, “Hi daddy.”

“Hi sweetie. How was your semester?”

“Good, but it’s nice to have some free time. Mommy, Daddy, this is Max,” Liz introduced.

Max shook Nancy’s hand, “Nice to meet you Mrs. Parker.”

“Call me Nancy. Mrs. Parker makes me sound old.”

“Alright Nancy. Mr. Parker.” Moving onto Jeff, Max held on firmly as Jeff gripped his hand hard, shaking it.

“You hurt her you die.”

“Daddy,” Liz warned.

Jeff laughed. “I’m just kidding. It’s just fun to see the reaction that gets. Besides, as I have an understanding, her friend Alex takes care of that for me.”

Max visibly softened at Jeff’s admission. He was scared for a minute there. Not that he ever had plans of hurting Liz again, but he was guessing that Jeff hadn’t heard about their past mishaps and was afraid of what would happen if he did.

The rest of the night was spent talking and getting to know each other. Her parent’s seemed to take very well to Max, and by the end of the night Liz was sure he’d won her dad over.

Later that night, Max and Liz stayed up watching a movie, her parent’s already having gone to bed.

“See that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Liz asked.

“No, not too horrible an experience. Not at all like Kyle explained it.”

“What? What did Kyle say to you?”

“Just that your father was very protective and it would be a grueling process of trying to prove to your father that I was worthy of you.”

“That jerk. My father’s not like that.”

“So I noticed,” Max said, pulling her tighter into his embrace. “And I was glad to find that out.”

“Of course, you weren’t the twenty one year old trying to date his seventeen year old daughter,” Liz pointed out.

“True enough.”

“Well I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything to worry about. I think my dad likes you.”

“Good, cause I’m not planning on going anywhere,” Max said, placing a kiss on her temple before turning back to the movie. Liz had a feeling this was going to be a great Christmas.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 67

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Is that it?” Maria asked as Michael brought some more clothes into her room and hung them in her closet where she’d made some space for him.

“That’s all I should need from my room while everyone’s here. If I need anything else, I can always go get it later anyways.” Walking over to the bed he sat beside his girlfriend and watched as she finished dressing Carolyn in a little pink outfit. “So where do you want the crib?” he asked.

“Are you sure you can get it by yourself? Kyle should be back soon and he can help you.”

“It’s okay, trust me. I did Carolyn’s room all by myself before you two got here, I think I can handle it again.”

“Okay then…” she contemplated. “Umm…how about over there?” Maria pointed toward the wall near the foot of her bed. With a nod Michael went out of the room toward the nursery and after much noise and grunting Maria chuckled when she finally saw him emerging through her door once more.

After many moments he situated the crib where she indicated and sat back beside his two girls to catch a breath.

“All better now sweetheart,” he cooed to the little pink bundle as he took her into his arms and lifted her into the air. “You like being in a room with mommy and daddy? Huh? Well just don’t get too used to it!” Maria laughed at that. They were definitely becoming a family…it wouldn’t be long now. “How about a nap for my little angel, huh? Time for night-night pretty girl?” Standing up Michael cradled his little blond beauty to his chest and laid her gently upon her blankets in her bed.

“She probably needs a nap after all that crying last night,” Maria shook her head wrapping her arms around Michael from behind.

“That little tooth is really bothering her. My poor baby…” he ruffled her baby hairs.

“Poor baby? Her? What about me…I’m the one who’s here with her all day, taking care of her as she whines and whimpers and makes me feel absolutely horrible cause I can’t really do much.”

“I’m sorry sweetie.” Michael turned around, wrapping his arms around her bringing her closer against his chest so he could place a kiss to her sweet red lips.

“Mmm…you know I’d love to just stand here and kiss you all afternoon, but Izzie will be annoyed if you don’t go pick her up…so you best go and get her unless you want to hear about it for the next week while she’s here in this house.” The horrified look on his face could only make her laugh until the too familiar cries came from the little crib beside them. “And I better take care of this little one, unless of course…” she trailed off knowing full well that he would go run to get his sister.

“I think I’ll just go get Izzie now,” pointing toward the door he made a hasty exit, then quickly retraced his steps to kiss her lips before leaving once more.

“Nice way to get daddy out of the house honey…” Maria laughed picking up her daughter and slowly making her way to the living room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Maria, honey, we’re back!” Amy called as she breezed through the front door.

“Hey mom,” Maria’s exasperated voice floated through the air from the living room along with a baby’s cries.

“Oh, is she fussing again? I’m sorry sweetie. Here, why don’t you let me take care of her for a while and you can go do something fun and relaxing, huh?” Amy wrapped her arms around her daughter’s shoulders giving them a squeeze. “Don’t worry, the first tooth is the worst, after that it’s not quite so bad. Besides, it comes and goes. But I think that tooth is being rather persistent.”

“I don’t know mom…I mean, I wouldn’t feel right just leaving you to have to deal with her.”

“Maria, are you kidding? I’ve missed you both so much. Look at how big she’s gotten?! She’s getting her first tooth! Go on, you could use a break. Go out and go shopping or something, just get away for a bit. We’ll be fine, I promise. And when you get back, we’ll have this tree all decorated.”

“Thanks mom, you’re the best!”

“No problem. Oh wait, so when are Michael’s parents getting here?” Amy remembered. She knew they were coming some time before Christmas but she wasn’t sure exactly when. She was interested to see how this holiday would turn out with everyone together in this one house. Would it be big enough for all 9 of them?

“Umm…they should be here sometime tomorrow. I’m pretty sure Samantha said the day before Christmas Eve the last time we talked to them.”

“Great. Then you and Michael should go out tonight. You know, get in one last relaxing night before your house is completely invaded by all of us,” Amy laughed.

“But I don’t want to overwhelm you mom, I mean you’re making me get out right now too.”

“What did I say before? Don’t even worry about it. We’ll be fine; you just go and enjoy yourself! And Michael too. Now go, shoo!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Julia!” Meg and Jess ran out to the car in excitement when the car pulled up in the driveway. “Alex! Finally!”

“Hey girls, I missed you,” Alex smiled as he opened the door and pulled his sister’s into a big hug. “Look at you two, you’re gonna be taller than me soon if you keep growing!” he joked.

“Alex! Stop it, why would we wanna be that freakishly tall?” Jessica retorted.

“Fine, someone obviously doesn’t want a Christmas present…”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Jules, we missed you,” Meg smiled as she made her way to the other side of the car to her sister. “Did you miss us? Is your roommate better than your real sisters? Do you see Alex all the time? Did you have fun on Thanksgiving? We missed you, and everyone was asking for you…” she babbled as fast as she could.

“Yeah, when I said you stayed in California to meet your boyfriend’s family, wow, Aunt Anita just went crazy gushing about how incredibly sweet that was. It was funny, but you might want to watch out for her when they come next week,” Jess finished for her sister.

Julia was blown away by the rapid speech of her sisters and the flood of everything that it brought upon her. She’d come home with the hope of maybe forgetting her problems for a while. But that was obviously not going to happen.

“So…tell us all about him,” Meg smiled as she and Jess pulled Julia toward the front door.

“Maybe later, kay guys? I’m kinda tired from being in the car for so long…”

“Sure, no problem. Come on Alex, hurry up with all those bags,” they teased as the girls made it through the front door leaving Alex to get all the bags.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Michael, darling, it’s so good to see you,” Samantha smiled as she approached the cute house her son now lived in. They were all standing outside waiting for them. “Isabel, you’re looking great as always, but haven’t you been eating enough? You’re so skinny!”

“Mom!” Isabel rolled her eyes at her mother’s silliness. She wasn’t any skinnier than she had been at Thanksgiving, when she’d probably eaten too much.

“Maria you look radiant. Oh and there’s my precious little granddaughter! Aren’t you just precious?” she laughed as she gently hugged Maria and Carolyn.

“Did you have a good drive?” Maria asked to break the ice as she let Samantha take the baby.

“Lovely, no traffic at all, I was amazed, but Patrick of course said he planned it that way. Men, right?” Maria laughed at the roll of her eyes. Samantha was quite the character.

“Samantha, Patrick, I don’t know if you remember them or not, but this is my mother Amy, and her husband Jim Valenti, and his son Kyle.”

“Of course we remember. It’s nice to see you again, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other now,” Patrick smiled.

“Why don’t we all go inside?” Michael suggested as he wrapped his arm around Maria and led them all in.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Come to momma, sweetie,” Maria cooed. Carolyn was on a blanket on the floor in the living room on Christmas eve as everyone sat around talking, and Maria was trying to get Carolyn to crawl a little. It hadn’t happened yet, but the other day she had reached her stuffed bunny by scooting herself on her tummy a couple inches. That had Michael and Maria both grinning like fools for hours. Their baby girl was just growing up so fast.

“She’ll be walking before you know it,” Samantha smiled from her seat upon the couch.

“Yeah, they just grow up so fast, it’s hard to let them go,” Amy rejoined.

“Come on baby, come to mommy,” Maria urged some more as she held a soft mint green teddy bear in front of herself. To her surprise Carolyn was slowly scooting her way across the few inches separating her from her teddy. Not quite crawling yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

“Look! She’s doing it! Come on sweetie, mommy’s waiting. Momma’s got teddy.” Nothing could wipe that grin off Maria’s face as her daughter’s hand reached up and took hold, clasping her tiny fingers around the teddy’s arm.

“Daddy’s little angel, yes you are,” Michael laughed as he swooped down to pick his daughter up in his arms and hug her to his chest.

“She’ll always be my little girl,” Maria whispered to herself, “always.”

Off to the side Isabel looked on just watching everyone. Everything was coming together for Michael it seemed. A beautiful daughter that he doted on, a girlfriend with a rather gorgeous ring around her neck, and this house that they were living in together. Then she thought about her own life. She finally had a boyfriend who she knew loved her as much as she did him, and they’d been steady for over a year, she could only see good things in their future…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Courtney sighed as she sat on the swing in the park. How often had she met Max here when he’d needed someone to talk to last year while he and Liz had been broken up? Now here she was again, but this time she was waiting for someone who confused her much more than Max ever had, but at the same time this guy could make her see stars, and she loved that.

“Court?” Courtney looked up from her thoughts and saw the one she’d been waiting for. Why had she asked him to meet her here again?

“Hey, how’s your vacation so far?”

“Eh, it’s okay. I’ve only spent some time with my family so far, but hopefully I’ll have time to see some of my friends after tomorrow,” Justin offered half heartedly.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. My mom has been all into spending time with me. I guess its cause it’s my first year going to school and living elsewhere and she misses me.”

They were both silent for a minute. Courtney was trying to think of just how she wanted to bring this up while Justin’s mind was running through anything he could have possibly done wrong that would have made Courtney ask to see him so suddenly when she had called him an hour ago.

“Justin…I just…”

“Court, what ever I did this time to make you upset I’m sorry,” he burst out as soon as she spoke his name.

“No…Justin, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry, were you thinking that’s why I asked you to meet me? It’s not that at all. I just,” taking a deep breath Courtney focused her mind. “Justin, its just that I’m tired of this back and forth squabbling thing where I break up with you and then you break up with me. That’s not a relationship, you know?”

“So you’re saying you want to break up with me?” he was crushed. Sure they’d had more than their share of ups and downs, but he never thought they were that serious. “I thought we had something special.”

“We do. That’s why I wanted you to meet me here, so that we could talk about this face to face. Justin, I like you, I like what we have together, the way you make me feel so special. I just hate the way we let little things get between us, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry that I can be such a jealous, pig-headed jerk.”

“I’m sorry I’m a rich little pain in the ass…”

“Little?” Justin joked.

“Hey, watch it buddy!”

“I’m sorry. So what do we do now?”

“Well, I’d like to stay your girlfriend…you know for more than just one week at a time.”

“I’d like that too.”

“So will you trust me that I’m telling you the truth when I’m meeting my friends, and if there was something to tell, I would?”

“Yeah, and I promise to not look at other girls when I’m out with you.”

“I have always told you the truth, and maybe I wasn’t always very clear, and I’m sorry, but I’ll try harder. But from now on let’s agree to talk about things before we start yelling and throwing around insults. Okay?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Justin smiled as he stepped up to Courtney and helped her to stand before pulling her into a hug. “I first thought that you were just tired of our relationship and asked me here to break up with me. Boy am I glad that wasn’t true!”

“Justin,” Courtney cupped his face in her hands to look in his eyes. “You make me feel special and like I can be anything I want to be, so why would I want to let you go?”

“Mmm…I don’t know, but is it time for making up?” he teased as he tugged softly at her blond strands.

“Make up? But technically we didn’t break up, so how can we make up?”

“Oh, like this,” he winked and brought her lips to his.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmm…can I sleep now?” Maria mumbled through her pillow when Michael walked into the room.

“It has been a long day, hasn’t it?” Michael walked over and sat on the edge of the bed where she was laying on her stomach, head shoved in her pillow.

“You can say that again. But it wasn’t really that bad I suppose.” Michael brushed her hair aside and gently at first rubbed his hands across her shoulders. “Oh god, that feels like heaven,” she sighed as she slumped forward.

“Is my mother wearing you out? Cause if she’s bothering you just let me know and I’ll tell her to stop.”

Maria lifted her face up out of the soft feathery depths to look him in the eye before answering.

“No Michael. It’s nothing like that. Your mother didn’t do anything and neither did mine. It’s just the stress of having so many people in the house and making enough food to feed everyone for dinner tomorrow…oh dear…I mean, it’s Christmas, sure it’s a great holiday for family time, but its also stressing. I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about dinner tomorrow, because our mother’s have that all figured out. They’re in charge of it. And Isabel has everything figured out for opening presents tomorrow morning…don’t ask me why we need a plan of attack for that, but she said she had it all figured out, so you don’t have anything to be stressed over.”

“Ahh! Don’t stop…please!” Maria sighed when he’d stopped for a moment, but only to reposition himself over her back to get more comfortable as he continued the massage. “Thank you, for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me, they offered.”

“I can’t believe how well our families are getting along.”

“Yeah, no major trauma. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say my mom actually likes your parents. It’s weird.”

“It’s perfect,” Maria smiled.

“That better?” Michael asked as he sat back down beside her finished with the massage.

“Much.” Lifting herself up she chastely kissed his cheek.

“Good. Is my little angel asleep already?” He looked towards his daughter in her crib.

“Yeah. Hopefully she’ll be able to sleep throughout the night. I don’t think her tooth was bothering her much today, she wasn’t nearly as fussy as yesterday.”

“Come on, let’s go to bed,” Michael sighed as he stood up to take off his sweats but then wondered if she would be uncomfortable with him sleeping in his boxers in bed with her.

“What’s wrong?” Maria asked when she noticed him stop.

“I…I just…”

“It’s okay Michael. Honestly.”

“But we haven’t really…”

“Michael,” Maria whispered trying not to raise her voice too much to wake their daughter. “I know we’ve been taking this relationship slow, but I’d like to think that you wouldn’t mind being in bed with me in only your boxers. Am I really that bad?” she teased, knowing she had him with that one.

“God no, of course not! You’re amazing; you know that! I’m sorry, I just…didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Well then get that little ass of yours in this bed and stop apologizing.”

“Yes ma’am!” Michael saluted as he stripped to his boxers. When Maria started laughing he raised an eyebrow in her direction.

“That’s cute…really it is,” she giggled. She couldn’t help it really. It was just the fact that he had little Rudolf’s all over his boxers and their red noses were glowing in the dark.

“Are you mocking my clothes choices?”

“No, I said they were cute. I like them. Now its time for me to get some sleep, so you might want to keep them covered with a blanket or I might be blinded by the light,” she laughed.

“Yeah, just keep laughing and I’ll join my sister on the couch.”

“I’m sorry Michael. Come on, let’s go to bed now.”

“Only if you promise to be nice and stop laughing at me.”

“I promise.”

“Okay then.” He lowered himself to the bed and sat down to take his shirt off and throw it on top of his sweats. Tentatively he laid himself down on the bed beside her and lay his head on the pillow. He nearly jumped up off the bed when he felt her little body slide up against his and nestle close against his chest. Instead his arms fell around her body, surrounding her with his scent.

Maria was in heaven. This was where she wanted to be, she was sure of that now. If anything had showed her that, it had been today as she spent the time with her family and his, it was perfect, and she never wanted it to change. With a content sigh she let herself melt against him, falling asleep with his chest as a pillow to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

“Goodnight Maria,” Michael whispered with a brush of his lips on the crown of her head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So Alex, how’s Isabel spending Christmas?” Clara asked her son as they waited for Jessica and Julia to finish getting ready so that the family could leave for midnight mass. It was a sort of family tradition, they always went to midnight mass on Christmas eve. Maybe they weren’t the most religious family, but it was a special occasion, and most of the population of Roswell went.

“Her parents are coming down along with Maria’s and they’re spending the holiday together for Michael and Maria, after all, it is Carolyn’s first Christmas,” Alex explained.

“Ahh, well that’s nice. Well be sure to wish her a happy holidays for me when you call her tomorrow.” Clara smiled. She knew how bad her son had it for that girl and she couldn’t help but be happy for them. She really liked Isabel; she just seemed to be so down to earth and perfect for her son.

“Sure mom.”

“Umm…Alex, Julia wants to talk to you upstairs,” Jessica told him as she came down. The look on her face told him something was wrong so he immediately headed up.

“What’s wrong Jess?” Megan piped up.

“I don’t know, she just got this really serious look on her face and I think she started crying…I’m not sure.”

“Maybe I should go check on her.”

“No mom, she asked for Alex, she’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

Upstairs Alex found Julia’s bedroom door open a crack and stuck his head inside to see what she needed. What he found made him want to tear out Andrew’s eyes for ever being able to hurt his sister like he had. He’d kill the guy for what he’d done to Isabel and Julia…

“Alex…” she sniffled, “can you tell mom and dad that I’m not feeling well and that I’m just gonna stay home tonight?”

“Here, why don’t you blow your nose,” he handed her a Kleenex and sat down beside her on the edge of her bed. “Now, why do you want to stay home, by yourself? Just laying here dwelling on things isn’t going to make you feel any better. Come to church with us. It’ll take this off of your mind and maybe you’ll see some of your friends that you haven’t seen in months. Okay?”

“But mom’s gonna know I’ve been crying, and she’ll ask and…can’t I just stay?” Julia whined.

“Hey, just wipe those eyes a little and finish your makeup and you’ll be great. No one will know the difference. Trust me, you look beautiful. Will you be alright now or should I wait up here for you?”

“No, thanks Alex. I’ll be fine. Just tell everyone I’ll be down in a minute.”

One last look at his sister told him that she would be okay. She was strong, and even though that bastard broke her heart, she would survive. Though god help him if he ever saw that rat again he wouldn’t be held responsible for the damage he might inflict.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael wasn’t sure if he was awake or still dreaming. But the softness of Maria’s tongue brushing across his lips was enough to open his eyes and let reality sink in.

“Morning spaceboy,” she smiled down at him, brushing her fingers across his chest and arms lightly.

“Mmm…good morning to you too. Merry Christmas,” he whispered against her temple.

“Same to you.” She continued to brush the fingers of her left hand up and down his chest almost waiting for something from him. It took him a while of just watching her and seeing the light dancing in her eyes before he finally looked down and an unstoppable smile illuminated his face.

“Are you sure?” he asked hastily and all it took was her slight nod for him to crush his mouth against hers. “God I love you Maria!”

“I love you too spaceboy, but ya think we could go brush our teeth before we do any more celebrating?” she teased.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So do you kids have any plans for today?” Nancy asked after they’d finished breakfast and the traditional opening of presents.

“Well, I was thinking that I’d take Max ice skating on the lake. If you guys want to come with us you can,” Liz offered. She and Maria and Tess used to love to go to the lake on Christmas day because that was when they’d get to tell each other about all the cool gifts they’d gotten while their parents sat around talking and sometimes skating a little. It had become the Christmas hangout for many of the kids in the area.

“Can I go with?” Tess asked. “I want to call Jaime, but she usually goes.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Why don’t you kids stop at the café afterward and have some hot chocolate,” Jeff offered as he himself got ready to go open the café. “After all, Max hasn’t seen the café yet and you practically grew up there Lizzie,” he joked.

“Sure dad,” Liz rolled her eyes. Her dad just wanted to spend some time with Max. It was kinda weird to her how well the two of them got along. Her dad seemed to have already adopted him as his second son which was more than slightly starting to freak her out.

“You kids have fun,” Nancy called.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael and Maria were sitting on the sofa wrapped up in each other’s arms as they talked in hushed voices. Around them their fathers and Kyle were watching football on TV while their mothers worked on Christmas dinner and Isabel played with baby Carolyn. Peace and quiet.

They couldn’t decide when to make the announcement since as of yet no one had noticed. Maria had expected Isabel to be the first one to say something this morning, but nothing.

Michael decided that they had to do it today since tomorrow his parents would be going home, and soon after them Maria’s parents would be heading back to Nebraska as well. They hadn’t set a date yet or anything, but that didn’t matter to them because their future was set and only a matter of time.

Dinner was ready just in time for the football game to be over, which the guys were rather happy about. Maria couldn’t stop the nervous flutter of butterflies in her stomach as she held onto Michael’s arm tightly as they followed Isabel into the dining room. Carolyn was safely in her playpen with her new stuffed animals and toys nearby to keep her entertained while they had a meal.

Michael brought her left hand to his lips and kissed her perfect fingers before tangling his with hers and giving them a squeeze.

“I love you,” he spoke softly. “And don’t worry, they’re gonna be happy about it.”

“I know,” she kept telling herself. “I love you Michael.”

Everyone was sitting around the table but Michael wouldn’t when he reached his seat with Maria beside him, not letting her sit either. He lifted her hand in his trying to come up with the words he wanted to say.

“Oh my god!” Isabel’s gasp broke the silence before he could speak, her eyes glued to Maria’s hand.

“Thank you! Finally, I’ve been waiting for someone to notice all day!” Maria gushed. Aside from the fact that the ring was on her finger, the necklace that she’d never taken off was now no longer around her neck. But all day it had gone unnoticed to her surprise.

“What?” Samantha asked as her puzzled gaze wandered from her daughter to her son.

“Everyone, you all know that I proposed to Maria in September and since then she’s had my ring around her neck…until today. This morning she gave me my Christmas present before anyone else.” As if to show he removed his fingers from hers and held her hand up so everyone could see.

A myriad of congratulations and hugs and kisses followed so that everyone had to get up at least once before anyone could enjoy a delicious roast beef dinner. Sam and Amy had definitely outdone themselves on dinner and there would be leftovers around the house for several days, which was no problem because Maria definitely didn’t mind not having to cook.

“So have you two decided on a day yet? Do you want a big wedding? Indoors? Outdoors? Oh! It would be so nice in the spring out in the gardens at Isabel’s…” Samantha began to ramble over desert and coffee.

“Well, we haven’t really…”

“And the dress. Honey, you’ve got to start looking now. You never know how long it’ll take you,” Amy joined in. She couldn’t help but be excited about her little girl; her only child was going to be getting married! She wasn’t old enough to have a daughter getting married! Then again she was already a grandmother…

“Mom! We haven’t really had time to think about it much. I mean, I just put the ring on this morning. But we’ll figure everything out, as in Michael and me.”

“I’m sorry honey, it’s just that…well…” Amy sniffled. “I’m just so happy for you!”

“Thanks mom. I love you and everything, but I want to plan my own wedding, okay?”

“Sure sweetie.”

“But if you ever need help with anything or just want to talk or ask about something, you can always ask,” Samantha offered with a smile. She already considered Maria a daughter and she hoped that Maria was starting to see her as a mother as well.

“Thanks, but for now, we’re great,” Maria smiled as her hand ran up and down Michael’s thigh beneath the table. Yeah, they were just fine now.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Are you done yet?” Megan called from outside the dressing room of Old Navy.

“Hold on Meg, I did bring in more things to try on than you. Go ahead and go to the shoe store, I’ll meet you there when I’m done, or at the food court in an hour when we meet mom and Jess,” Julia called from inside as she tried on yet another sweater. It was cuter than the last one. It had definite potential, especially with her long black skirt, casual yet classy.

“Are you sure?” Meg asked again. Julia could tell how anxious she was to get to the shoes.

“Go ahead, just be careful, the mall is packed today.”

“Isn’t it always?” With a laugh Meg was gone and Julia was left in peace to try on the rest of her clothes. She hadn’t really found much of anything except a really cute pink and lavender halter dress that she was sure Andy would love. But that thought quickly brought her thoughts crashing back to reality. Would she want Andy to see her in that dress now?

But she couldn’t help the way she felt about him, even with everything that she’d found out about him, she couldn’t help but think that he was different with her. He’d never lied to her in all honesty. Sure he hadn’t told her about his relationship with Isabel, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew how hard that must’ve been for him to finally tell her the truth.

Shaking off those thoughts she took off the last pair of jeans and folded them, adding them to the ‘buy’ pile and the last shirt to the ‘no’ pile. For a long while it had been tradition for the girls to go shopping while the guys bonded or whatever around the house on the day after Christmas. Julia usually ended up spending a good amount of the money she’d gotten from grandparents and aunts and uncles, but it was always a great time, and she loved clothes.

She was getting dressed when she felt the paper-like object starting to fall out of her back pocket. What was that? Taking it out she unfolded the paper and recognized it as her own stationary from school. And the writing was all too familiar. Shoving it back into her pocket she wiped the few tears from the corner of her eyes that were already starting to form and left the dressing room.

As soon as she’d paid for the clothes and she was out of the store Julia found a quiet little corner where she would be undisturbed for hopefully a long while. With shaky fingers she removed the paper and read it with wet eyes.

Juliet

He always called her that. He said she was his Juliet…

Juliet,

I hope this brings a little smile to your day. I know I’m going to miss you and I’ll be thinking of you every moment until you’re in my arms again. I couldn’t help myself when I left so early to pick you up today, I just want to spend all of my time with you.

You’ve completely changed me. You know that, right? What my mom was saying at Thanksgiving about how I’ve mellowed out and she’s never seen me smile so much, it’s all because of you. You make me feel things I never knew were possible. I live to make you smile and whenever you’re sad, I’m sad. I can’t wait for you to be back so we can celebrate the New Year together.

Always yours,

Andy

The tears had formed a steady stream down her cheeks as she read and tried to keep them from landing on the paper.

How could her world just get so screwed up at a time when she was supposed to be happy?

In her little corner she shut out the world of people talking and shopping around her as she curled up in a ball and let the tears fall. God she missed him. If she listened to her heart, she knew she wanted to be with Andy; no one had ever made her feel so alive and free and beautiful as he had.

But was it possible that he’d changed? Was it honestly true? But then, what would this note mean? Someone as horrible as everyone made Andrew sound to be in his past couldn’t possibly have written something that beautiful, right?

“Julie?” Meg’s voice slowly filtered into her ears. “Julia? What’s wrong? What happened?” Two arms wrapped around Julia’s shaking body and tried to calm her. It took a few minutes, but Julia finally got herself under control enough to wipe away her tears and manage some sort of response.

“Meg…oh, sorry I uh…I didn’t meet you at the shoe store,” she offered knowing how lame it sounded.

“Hey, no problem. But what’s wrong? Maybe I can help.”

“No…uh…I don’t think you can…” Julia swallowed the lump in her throat. “Why don’t we go meet mom and Jess, they’re probably waiting for us, right?” She sat up and brushed away the last signs of her tears before picking up her bags and looking to her sister as she followed suit.

“Okay…” Meg seemed uncertain but finally let it go much to Julia’s thanks.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria settled back against Michael’s chest on her bed after a long afternoon as she kept an eye on Carolyn who was playing quietly on a blanket on the floor.

“Hey, you okay?” Michael asked.

“I’m wonderful,” she smiled and turned to kiss him lovingly.

“Mmm…a little more of that and I’ll be wonderful too!” he joked, but Maria willingly obliged as she made herself more comfortable against him and luxuriated in his clean smell and soft fresh shaven skin.

“No offense to our parents, but I’m kind of glad we have the house to ourselves again.” Resting her cheek against his chest she watched her daughter struggle to reach for her favorite teddy.

“Mmm…I kind of enjoyed waking up with you in my arms…” Michael squeezed her tight not wanting to let go.

“Me too…but that doesn’t have to end now Michael,” her voice went serious. “I love you, and we are going to be married. I’d like to think that we could share a room…”

“Really? I don’t want to push you…”

“Michael, you’re not! I want to wake up in your arms too.” Trailing her fingers along his chest she met his eyes and lifted her lips to meet his, running her tongue softly across his as she relaxed into his embrace more and let him take control of the moment.

“It’s been a perfect Christmas,” Michael whispered in her hair when they finally broke apart a while later.

Down on the floor little Carolyn had gotten so frustrated that she couldn’t reach her beloved toy that she’d gotten on hands and knees and crawled forward to take it.

“Michael?! Did you just see…?”

“Yeah, I did,” he smiled like the proud father that he was.

“Now it has been the perfect Christmas,” Maria grinned before getting up off the bed and taking her baby in her arms. “You’re mamma’s big girl, aren’t you?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Glancing at her watch she quickly calculated the time difference before dialing the number on the paper.

“Hello?” the male voice on the other line spoke.

“Hi, is Tammy there?”

“Just a minute, can I ask who’s calling?”

“Julia, her roommate.”

“Okay, sure thing.” A few moments later Julia heard the click as another phone picked up and the other hung up.

“Hey Jul! About time you called. How was your Christmas?”

“Uh…it was…it was okay. How was yours?” She knew her voice probably sounded horrible because she’d been crying, but she couldn’t really do anything to hide that, and she had to talk to someone.

“It was great, now what’s wrong?” the concern was evident in Tammy’s voice.

“I…oh god…the Christmas party…Andy…” What started off as broken words finally took shape and eventually Tammy got the whole story of Julia’s unfortunate holiday misery. “And the letter is just so…beautiful, but he wrote it before everything happened…and I don’t know what to trust anymore, and I need my roommate!” she cried.

“Oh sugar…I’m sorry I can’t be there for you, really I am.” Tammy paused for a minute before continuing. “I’ve only known Andy as long as you, but I’ve never seen anything of him that would make me believe he was capable of any of that. And wasn’t he upfront with you about some of that? I mean he’d told you about…”

“Yeah, he had. I know. I just…”

“I’m sure it had to be difficult for him to tell you everything.”

“The look on his face…it was like someone had told him his best friend had died.”

“It’s seems like it hurt him as much as it did you. And why would it hurt him that much if he was the same guy that did all that stuff in the past? It seems like that guy had no feelings at all.”

“So you think I should give him another chance?” Julia’s voice was almost hopeful. After all, it was what she’d been slowly convincing herself that she wanted deep in her subconscious.

“I think that he himself has never given you a reason to doubt him except by not telling you himself about his past. He was probably afraid that you wouldn’t even give him a chance if you knew in the beginning, and then the more he got to know you the harder it got to tell you, so he just never did, not that that’s right. You had a right to know about it. But now that you do, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know…that’s why I called you. I needed to talk to someone who didn’t know the old Andrew as apparently nearly all of my brother and them did. It was horrible…I never want to have to do that again.”

“I’m not just going to tell you what to do. I’m the one who’s never had a relationship here, remember? But I’ll tell you this, I really think he loves you. Would he have taken the trouble to get to know me if he didn’t really care for you? Would he have been so excited about you meeting his parents? Or so nervous about meeting your brother? Would he have gone through all that if he hadn’t been for real?”

“I guess not…”

“Does that help, sugar?”

“Yeah, a little. Thanks Tam. I’m sorry to spoil your fun with all my problems,” Julia sighed into the phone.

“I’m your friend, your roommie, it’s what I’m here for.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Yeah. See you then. Bye sugar.”

“Bye.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 68

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright, back to sunny San Diego. Ya know, as much as I love going home, I definitely miss the warm weather.”

“You’re telling me,” Julia confirmed. Her and Alex had just gotten back to his apartment after the long drive from New Mexico. “I never thought that I could miss a place so much.”

Alex just laughed, hauling his stuff into his bedroom. “But it’s always good to be home. I still can’t believe Meg and Jess sometimes though. I was sure they were about to take your arm off and keep it for themselves.”

“I know what you mean. But I guess it’s understandable. First their big brother, then their big sister, off to college and leaving them alone. They just love us and can’t get enough of us.”

“Yea. I guess it makes sense, cause you can’t ever get enough of Alex,” he said in a macho voice.

“You cornball,” Julia hit him in the arm, playfully, making a bed for herself on the couch. It had been quite a long drive home from Roswell and she was ready to hit the sac.

“Hey Jules, I know it’s late, but I was thinking about going over to see Isabel. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes Alex, I’ll be fine. You know, you don’t have to baby-sit me all the time.”

“I know. I just…I know you’re going through a tough spot right now and I don’t want you to feel like I’m abandoning you.”

“You’re not abandoning me, you’re going to see your girlfriend. Now, are you actually gonna come back tonight or can I take the bed?”

With a smirk on his face, Alex replied, “Go ahead and take the bed. If I come back I’ll sleep on the couch.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Good morning Max,” Jeff said from the kitchen table. He was reading the morning paper, but stopped when he saw Max enter the room. Max went to the kitchen and got himself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table with Mr. Parker.

Max glanced at the paper that Jeff had set down, looking over the headlines quickly. Not seeing anything too interesting, he focused his attention back on his cup of coffee. Man, how he lived for his morning coffee. He couldn’t get by without the stuff anymore. Of course, his coffee consumption had gone up considerably once he met Liz, working at the café. He supposed that could have had something to do with it.

“Max, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Jeff broke the silence.

“Shoot.”

“How…close, exactly, are you and my daughter?”

“Well I love her, sir. You know that,” Max replied easily. He no longer had any inhibitions around Liz’s father. Up till now they’d gotten along remarkably well, taking part in many a long conversations. Max knew that Jeff wanted nothing more than the best for his daughter, and Max had done everything in his power to convince Jeff that he was it.

“Yes, but that’s not what I meant. I meant, how close are you?” Jeff emphasized the word close.

Catching the other man’s meaning, Max couldn’t help but smile. “Well that isn’t exactly your business now, is it sir?” Max replied seriously.

“Isn’t my business? She’s my daughter, it sure as hell is my business.”

“In all due respect, she’s a grown woman, living on her own, supporting herself. I dare say that no, it no longer is your business.”

Jeff started to speak several times, but nothing came out. He hated to admit it, but Max did have a point. His baby girl was no longer a baby and had every right to make her own decisions. He may not like it, but there wasn’t much he could do about it either.

“Look Max, I was only asking cause I want to make sure that whatever is going on between you two, that you’re being careful. I’m not ready to be a grandfather just yet.”

“Well, actually…uh…there’s been something we’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“What did you do to my daughter?” Jeff deadpanned. This is not how he expected this conversation to be going.

Max couldn’t help but burst into laugher at the look on Jeff’s face. It was classic. But he knew he couldn’t leave the guy hanging for too long, or he’d most likely regret it.

“I’m kidding Jeff. Honestly.” At the still skeptical look on Jeff’s face, he continued. “I’m not sleeping with your daughter.” Then after a moment, trying to control his laughter, “But you should’ve seen the look on your face.”

Jeff couldn’t help the smile, and subsequent laughter that erupted at Max’s admission. I guess it did serve him right, asking such questions. But it was good to know that his daughter was still his little girl, relatively speaking.

“What are you two laughing about?” Liz asked coming into the room, stepping up behind where Max was sitting, and rubbing across his shoulders lovingly.

“You boyfriend here just about gave me a heart attack. Led me to think you were pregnant.”

Liz bit her lip as her eyes sparkled conspiratorially. “Uh Max,” she started in all seriousness, “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“What?!?” Max and Jeff exclaimed, their laughter ceasing immediately.

Liz couldn’t keep the smile off her face, giggles coming through. “Guys are so gullible,” Liz replied, giving Max a quick kiss before leaving the two men alone, shock still painting their faces.

“Now that was just plain mean,” Jeff said just after she’d left.

“Uh huh,” came Max’s reply, still looking to where his girlfriend had retreated.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Max, where are you going? The restaurant’s that way.” Liz said, pointing in the opposite direction from where they were currently traveling. They had gone to see a movie and were on their way to dinner, when Max had unexpectedly turned the opposite way from where she’d told him to go.

“I know,” was all Max had to say, smiling slyly to himself.

“Then why are we going this way?”

“You’ll see,” again with the secret smile, and Liz had no choice but to sit back and wait. They stopped shortly in the parking lot of a park just off the road. Max had seen it and couldn’t resist making the small detour. Once the car was parked, Max turned off the engine and turned to Liz with shinning eyes.

“So are you going to tell me what we’re doing here? Or do I have to guess?”

“You know I’ve been here nearly a week and have yet to play in the snow,” Max said, I mischievous smirk on his face.

“Maxwell Philip Evans you better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“Oh come on Liz, this is something we can tell our grandchildren about.”

“Grandchildren?”

“Wishful thinking,” Max brushed off. “Come on Liz, please. It’ll be fun.”

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” Liz muttered as she got out of the car. Max got out quickly, running to her side to help her out of the car and into the snowy field.

Max left Liz’s side quickly, running into the middle of the snow and twirling around. Liz couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle he made. He was just like a little kid, suddenly finding himself in the depths of a candy store. Unable to resist, she bent down, grabbing a handful of snow from the ground and balling it up tightly. Chucking it as hard as she could, she giggled at the look on his face when the ball hit home.

“Why you little…” Max trailed off as he came running after her. Liz tried to run, but Max was faster. Catching up to her, he tackled her to the ground, pinning her down.

“Ugh…Max,” she whined, “Now our clothes are going to be all wet when we get to the restaurant.”

“Eh, it’s a small price to pay,” he smirked, swooping down to give her a kiss.

Liz laughed, pushing him off her. She got up, ran to a fresh plow of snow just a few feet away before flopping down again. By the time Max caught up with her, she was already on her feet, admiring her work.

“It’s an angel,” she stated, proud of herself.

“Mmmm…No,” Max said, giving himself sometime to puzzle over the image. Liz’s face took on a wounded look. Max just smiled, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. “This,” he started, “is an angel,” his eyes never leaving hers.

Liz didn’t know what to say. So instead, she brought up a shaky hand, running in down the side of his face, before kissing him lovingly.

“So you wanna melt some snow?” Max said once they broke apart.

Liz hit him on the shoulder lightly. “Know what’d you have to go and ruin the moment for. You were about to go home a lucky man, but know I just think you’re being cocky.”

“Alright, then forget I ever said anything,” Max held onto her waist even more tightly, afraid to let her go.

“Nope, the moment’s gone. Now let’s get to the restaurant before I freeze my ass off.”

“Oh no, we wouldn’t want that. I happen to enjoy your ass.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Silence.

“I was actually kinda surprised to hear you wanted to meet me. But I couldn’t help but hope that…” he trailed off, not exactly sure what he was trying to say.

“Look Andy I…I need to get this out. And I need you to just not say anything till I’m done okay?”

He nodded, but kept his eyes trained on her, as if looking for some ounce of understanding, of hope, of love. When she had called and asked to meet him at the park he had been surprised, ecstatic, but when he asked her what she wanted to talk about she would say no more. And he couldn’t hope but fear the worse.

“I…I had a lot of time to think while I was home, and it let me work out some things. I realized that you never did anything to me, except not tell me something that was obviously difficult for you to discuss, and not something that’s just brought up in normal conversation.

“Realizing that, I need you to swear to me. Swear to me that you’ve changed. Swear to me that you’re the man I thought you were, the man I fell in love with. Swear to me. And then we can start working on us.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“There you are sweetie,” Maria said, finally catching up to her daughter. “We can’t take our eyes off you for a second now can we.”

“There she is,” Michael said, seeing Maria and Carolyn in the kitchen. “What are you trying to do sweetheart? Give mommy and daddy a heart attack?”

If there was one thing they were learning as parents, it was that their daughter learned pretty fast. And it hadn’t been long before she was crawling faster then her parent’s could keep up with.

“But I was just having a little fun daddy. Honest,” Maria answered for her daughter, in a childish voice.

“Ha ha,” Michael replied dryly. But despite his seemingly sour attitude, he was unable to keep the smile from his face.

It was then that Carolyn gave a huge yawn, laying her head on her mother’s shoulder.

“I think somebody’s sleepy.”

“I would hope so,” Michael replied. “She certainly wore me out.”

Taking Carolyn up to her room, Michael and Maria went about their nightly routine, getting Carolyn ready for bed, together. Michael changed her while Maria took out her pajamas. They both dressed her wriggling form, trying not to let her get the best of them. Tucking her into bed, Michael read a story and Maria sang a lullaby, before turning out the light on their then sleeping daughter.

Standing outside Carolyn’s door, Maria sighed softly. “I don’t ever want her to grow up.”

“Me neither. But we’ll figure it out, together. One step and a time.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Uh, Kyle? This isn’t the way to my apartment.”

“I know that,” Kyle replied simply, not giving any further explanation.

“Ok… Then where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” Tess huffed from the passenger seat, but relented. “There’s just something I want to show you,” Kyle explained.

Knowing that she wasn’t going to get any more out of him, Tess just sat back and tried to enjoy the moment. It was nice to finally be home, not that she didn’t feel at home in Nebraska anymore, but San Diego was home too.

And more than anything she was glad to have Kyle again. It was hard to describe how much she missed him for the short time that she was away. Sometimes it scared her how much she loved him, but at the same time it was oddly comforting. To have someone that you connected with on that level…that was something she’d never had before.

“We’re here,” Kyle announced, parking his car on the side of the road.

“What is it?” Tess asked looking around; they were in the middle of a residential area.

“You’ll see once you get out.”

Getting out of the car, Tess walked around to meet Kyle halfway, and was about to say something when Kyle just put a finger to his lips, signaling for her to stay quite. Not saying a word, Tess took his hand when he motioned her with a finger to join him as the walked down the street.

Tess wasn’t sure what was going on, but decided to just go with the flow and take things as they came. Coming around a corner, Tess gasped as she was struck with the bright lights engulfing the cul-de-sac, indeed a contrast to the dark night. Letting her eyes adjust properly Tess was in awe of each house on the street, each elaborately decorated with Christmas lights.

“I heard about this place from some friends at school who live down here. They said that for years these people have been putting up lights like this, getting more and more intricate every year. They’re quite famous for it apparently. I just thought that since we didn’t get to spend the holiday together, that we could at least enjoy a little bit of the spirit that comes with it.”

Tess didn’t have any words to describe what she was feeling at that moment. Moved by his speech, she stood up on her tippy-toes, kissing him fully on the lips, letting him know how much she loved the sentiment.

Wordlessly, the two walked down the street, enjoying the sights that beheld them, and more importantly, just having this moment together.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Come in,” Isabel called from where she sat in front of her vanity mirror, brushing her hair having just gotten out of the shower. “Hey Julia,” she said, seeing her friend come in. “What’re you doing here?”

“I stole Alex’s keys when he got home. He uh…doesn’t know I’m here,” Julia started hesitantly. Why was she here again? Oh yeah… It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now it just felt really awkward.

“What’s wrong?” Isabel asked, immediately coming to her friend’s side. She could tell by the tone in the girl’s voice that something was off. And the fact that Alex didn’t know she was here…well, let’s just say it triggered alarms to go off in Isabel’s head.

“It’s uh…I…it’s nothing really, I’m just being silly. It’s just that…” she trailed off again.

“Don’t worry about it,” Isabel said comfortingly. “Just tell me what’s on your mind.” Isabel really liked Alex’s sister, and hated to see her look so uncomfortable around her.

Gathering up her courage, Julia just spit it out. “I just…I thought that you should know that Andy and I got back together.”

Isabel was speechless for a moment. Not having a clue how to respond. Fortunately, she didn’t have to, as Julia continued.

“He explained everything that happened to me, and although I know that’s a lot of mistakes to make and a lot to forgive, he’s never done anything to me. Never pushed me, never done anything but love me. I have no reason to believe he hasn’t changed.”

“You have no reason to believe he has,” Isabel blurted out before she could stop.

“On the contrary,” Julia contradicted calmly, no longer as uncomfortable with the situation, “I have every reason to believe he’s changed. Look, I know what this must look like to you, but trust me and believe that I know what I’m doing, that I know what I’m getting myself into.

“I just felt that you should know, because of your and Andy’s…history. And cause I just needed to tell somebody.”

Isabel didn’t have any words. Julia sounded so definitive, and by the look on her face, Isabel knew that there was nothing to do to change his mind. Sensing that the conversation was over, Julia got up from where they had taken a seat on Isabel’s bed. She knew that Isabel was going to need a little time to herself to process this information.

As a last minute thought, Julia threw over her shoulder, “Oh, and please don’t tell Alex. I want to tell him myself on my own time.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Just a minute,” Andy called, wiping his hands on a dishtowel before making his way to the door. Flinging it open, he paused motionless in the doorway when he saw who it was. “Uh…Hi,” he muttered, finally finding his voice.

“Hi,” Isabel replied unsurely. “Can I uh…could I come in?” she asked after a moment.

“Yeah, sure,” Andy replied quickly, letting Isabel through the door. She walked in and sat on the couch, while Andy still stood by the door, as if trying to figure out if this is real or just some weird nightmare.

“Sorry. I guess I’m just a little shocked to see you here,” Andy said, bringing himself back to reality.

“Yeah, you and me both,” Isabel mumbled under her breath, but Andy heard it.

“Look Isabel, I don’t mean to be rude. But, why are you here?”

“Julia told me that you and her got back together.”

“Oh.”

“Listen Andrew, just stay away from her. She’s my friend, and I don’t want to see her hurt the way I know she will be if this keeps up. I’m not going to let you use her the way you used me. So just, leave her alone, and find some other girl to shack up with.”

“It’s not that simple Isabel.”

“Sure it is. Listen, I’d rather see her hurt now then end up completely heart broken months down the line. So break it off now, and I won’t tell her about everything else that went on between us.” Isabel felt more courageous now, finally standing up to the guy who had caused her so much pain, and it felt good, great even to finally feel in control around him.

“Isabel I don’t think you understand…”

She cut him off. “What’s there to understand? All you’ve ever caused is pain to me and everyone else around you. I don’t think there’s anything that needs understanding.”

“But I love her Isabel…”

“Oh, you love her? Like the way you loved me, huh?” Isabel was seeing red. Did he even hear himself? “Well, let me assure you of something Andrew…she doesn’t need that kind of love.” That last word came off her lips like a bitter taste.

“Stop it Isabel.”

“Stop it? Stop it! Oh, I’ve only just begun,” she yelled.

“Isabel, look at me,” he said, calmly, too calmly in Isabel’s opinion. And it was exactly that that caused her to quite her rant and look at him.

“Isabel, I know I’ve hurt you. And I’m so sorry…”

“Andrew,” Isabel warned, turning her head. She didn’t want to hear any more of his excuses.

“No Isabel, look at me,” he insisted. She turned back to him, looking him in the eyes as he stated, unwavering, “I am in love with Julia.”

Isabel searched his eyes, looking for something, any hint of uncertainty, betrayal…but found none. He was telling the truth. She knew it, knew him well enough to know when he lied. But there was nothing but pure, uncontestable truth showing in his eyes.

“But how…” Isabel trailed off, not quite sure what she was asking.

He smiled, reminiscent. “I’m not quite sure myself actually. We met through a friend of mine and…she’s just amazing. I just can’t stop thinking about her. And when I thought I’d lost her, it was like my world ended. She means everything to me. I could never intentionally hurt her.”

“But you hurt me Andrew. How do I know that you won’t do the same to her?”

“Isabel, I never meant to hurt you. I know that’s hard to believe but…” Andrew let out a long breath before continuing. “Isabel, I’m an alcoholic.”

“What? Does Julia know?”

“Yes, she knows. She’s known for months now, has been helping me through it. Look Isabel, I haven’t had a drink since I met her. She made me realize I’m a better person without it, that I can fight the urges, and still come out on top, and sober.

“I almost went back to it that night, after I left your place. I went to the liquor store around the corner from my place, bought a bottle of vodka and was outside in the parking lot, the bottle open and to my lips when I realized that Julia wouldn’t want this. She wouldn’t want me to give up on everything we’d worked for, because of her. So, I poured it out, every last drop right there on the street. Then got in the car and drove home.”

After a silence, and Isabel was sure he was done with his story, she asked, “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Cause I know I owe you an explanation. I drank a lot when we were dating, and because of that I treated you horribly. And there’s no way I could ever express how sorry I am. But when I finally realized I had a problem, admitted it to myself, I knew I had to let you go, cause I couldn’t go on hurting you anymore.”

“Let me go? You broke up with me cause there was someone else,” Isabel said, surprised, herself, at the bitter tone. She thought she had gotten over this, accepted everything, but she was surprised at the still strong emotions she felt surfacing.

“I lied. I’m not quite sure how I got away with it, but I did. You always seemed to be able to tell when I was lying; even when you didn’t say it, I knew you knew. When I woke up that morning, and realized what I had done to you, I was so disgusted with myself you wouldn’t believe. So I told you what I thought you needed to hear to get you as far away from me as possible, so I couldn’t hurt you anymore.”

“I don’t believe it. I can’t believe that you’ve changed.”

“I don’t really expect you too. Just, trust that I love Julia, with all my heart. And I told her everything, and by some miracle, that I can’t even understand, she took me back. And I’m not going to screw this up again.”

“I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“I can’t do that. If I lose her again…” he trailed off, not having the words to finish the thought. “I just can’t,” he finished lamely. “Trust that Julia trusts me. That she knows everything yet trusts me enough to give me another shot. I have changed Isabel; I’m not perfect, but I’m trying. And I know Julia well enough to know that if I ever break, if I ever falter, she’ll be out that door and out of my life for good.

“So, do you understand? I can’t mess up. I can’t.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Isabel!” Courtney called as she walked swiftly through the mansion, looking for her friend. “Isabel, I need your help!”

Isabel sat back on her bed and sighed. She still had this whole Andrew/Julia business rolling around in her head and now she had to deal with Courtney and all her relationship problems. Why did everyone always come to her?

“I’m in here,” Isabel called from her bedroom, not surprised when Courtney came toddling in soon after. “Alright, what’d he do this time?” Isabel asked.

“Huh?” Courtney looked confused. “What’d who do?”

“Justin.”

“Justin? He didn’t do anything. What are you talking about?”

“Then why’d you guys break up?”

“We didn’t break up. He’s coming to pick me up in like twenty minutes.”

“Alright, now I’m the one that’s confused. What did you need my help for then?”

“I don’t know what to wear!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey guys,” Isabel said as she opened the door to her brother and soon to be sister-in-law. “Everybody else is pretty much here.”

Maria and Michael came in all smiles, Maria holding Carolyn against her chest with her right arm. They walked into the living room where everyone was gathered, and were thrown into the throng of greeting friends, many who they hadn’t seen since before Christmas.

Michael left to get them both a drink as Maria talked about Christmas with Liz and Tess. She wanted to hear all about how things got off between Max and Jeff Parker. Michael came back with her drink, and Maria thanked him, bringing the champagne flute up to her lips when she heard the harsh gasp come from her childhood friend.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Liz cried, loud enough to raise the attention of the whole room.

Maria smiled. She’d been waiting for someone to notice the ring on her finger, and she wasn’t too surprised that it was Liz. Liz had always been the one she was closest too, and although Michael was quickly taking that place, she knew that she and Liz would always have that deep connection they’d always shared.

“Well, I know I always tell you everything first Lizzie, but under the circumstances, I really thought that Michael should know before anyone else.”

“When?”

“Christmas morning,” Michael replied with a smile. That had been one of the happiest moments of his life, waking up with the girl of his dreams in his arms and his ring on her finger.

“Christmas! That was like a week ago,” Liz whined. “And you only found the time to tell me now?”

“I wanted to tell you in person. And this is the first time I’ve seen you since before you left for Nebraska. Please don’t be mad at me,” Maria sighed, putting on her puppy-dog face.

“How can I be mad at you?” Liz asked. “I can’t believe you’re getting married,” she started, tears stinging your eyes. “I’m so happy for you,” she finished, giving her long time friend a hug.

The stayed like that for a while, happy tears coming to both their eyes.

“Look at me,” Maria started. “I’ve turned into a sap.”

“Oh, come on, Maria. You’ve always been a sap,” Tess said coming up to her friend to congratulate her as well.

Hugs and congratulations went all around, for both Maria and Michael. Then came the annoying question.

“Have you set a date yet?”

Maria sighed. “No, we haven’t set a date. And yes, I know we need time to plan everything and get the dresses, yadda yadda yadda. But we will do that on our own time, when we decide. Ok?” Maria finished, leaving no room for disagreement.

“Sorry,” Alex stepped back, arms raised defensively. “I was just asking.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Julia sweetie. Are you sure this is a good idea?” Andy asked, pacing the hallway outside the bathroom door where his girlfriend was getting ready.

“Yes Andy. As much as I know it’s going to be hard for you to see all my friends again after everything, I need this. I need them. And I want them to accept our relationship for what it is. Ok?”

“Yeah, I understand. And it’s not like I have any control over it anyway. You know I’ll go wherever you want me to go.”

“That’s what I was counting on,” Julia smiled, putting the finishing touches on her make-up in the bathroom mirror.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria looked down at the sleeping baby on her chest and then looked up to Michael. He just nodded, neither of them having to say a word. They both got up, and looked to their friends apologetically.

“Sorry guys, but we have to go. We need to get this little one home to bed,” Michael said, rubbing his daughter’s back from where he stood next to his fiancé.

“Oh, but it’s not even close to midnight. And Julia’s not even here. Where is she anyway?” Courtney asked, looking to Alex.

“She was going out with some friend before she came over. She said they would drop her off here when they were done. She should be here any minute now.”

“Well, I’m sorry guys. But if we don’t get Carolyn home, she will be one cranky little girl tomorrow.”

Everyone said their goodbyes as Michael, Maria and Carolyn made their way out the door.

They sat around a while longer, talking and listening to music, before sticking in a movie to hold them over until close to midnight. Not too long into the flick, they heard the doorbell ring. Isabel got up to get it, knowing just who it was going to be and slightly afraid of what their appearance might cause. But this was Julia’s decision, and who was Isabel to stop it.

“Hey guys,” Isabel said, answering the door. “Come on in.”

Little did Isabel know, Alex had followed her to the door, anxious to see his sister. He couldn’t help but be protective of her when he knew she was hurting like she was. It was in his nature. But what he saw was the last thing that he expected.

“I thought I told you to stay away from my sister!”

“Alex!” Isabel turned around, surprised to see him there. She thought he was still in the other room watching the movie with everyone else.

“Alex, calm down,” Julia said, coming towards her brother. “Look, I gave everything a lot of thought and Andy and I are going to give it another chance.”

“Wait, you didn’t tell him?” Andy asked confused. Julia had led him to believe that her brother already knew they were back together.

“No, I thought that this would be easier with other people around. That Alex would be forced not to make a scene. And besides, would you have come if you knew I hadn’t told him?”

“You’re giving him another chance!” Alex broke out, finally letting everything that she’d been saying process. “What are you stupid? You know what he did to Isabel.”

“Alex, calm down,” Isabel put her hand on his shoulder trying to soothe him, but he pulled away. She’d never seen him this angry before.

“Calm down! Why should I calm down? She’s going out with that…that…that bastard and you expect me to calm down.”

“Alex stop!” it was Julia this time. “Look, I am not stupid. I know what I’m doing. Andy has changed, I know he has.”

“Like hell. A guy doesn’t just change that much Julia. It’s not possible. He’s just manipulating you the way he did Isabel.”

“Alex, Andrew never manipulated me. Not like that. I knew what he was, I just didn’t want to believe it,” Isabel said, trying to calm him down.

“What are you, defending them?”

“I think I better go,” Andy said, looking to Julia. “You guys have some things to work out.”

“No, I’m going with you,” Julia said, making her way to his side. She was not going to let her brother ruin her New Years.

“Oh no you’re not,” Alex said, starting towards Julia, but Isabel held him back.

“You are not my keeper Alex Whitman. I am a grown woman and can make my own decisions. Now you can either accept that or not, but either way this is how it’s going to be. Andy and I are going to be together, cause that’s what I want. And nothing you say is going to change my mind.” And with that, Julia pushed Andrew out the door before he could protest, leaving Isabel and Alex alone in the entry-room.

There was a dead silence between them for a moment, each one collecting their thoughts.

“You know you can’t treat her like that,” Isabel said, breaking the quiet.

“Like what?” Alex seethed, still angry.

“Like you’re her father. She can make her own decisions Alex, you’re just pushing her away.”

“I can’t watch her get hurt Isabel. Not when I know what he is.”

“What if he’s changed?”

“Yeah right. Somehow I doubt that.”

“Why? Julia believes it. I believe it. Why can’t you?”

“What do you mean you believe it?”

“I had a long talk with Andrew yesterday, cause at first I felt the same way. I was going to tell him to stay away from her, but after we talked, I could just tell that he’d changed. He loves her Alex.”

“Are you telling me you knew about this? You knew about this and you didn’t tell me?”

Isabel sighed. “Yes.”

“I can’t believe this. You’re falling into his trap all over again. And now you’re going to let my sister get caught up in it as well.”

“I’m not getting caught in any trap Alex. He’s changed.”

“You fell into it before, how is this any different?”

“Stop that.”

“No Isabel! I’m not going to stop this. I’m not going to let my sister get taken advantage of like you were. And if you can’t understand that then I guess you don’t understand me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I can’t believe your supporting them,” Alex said, ignoring the question. “I can’t believe you’re on their side.”

“She’s your sister Alex. Doesn’t she deserve to be happy?”

“He can’t make her happy. God Isabel, don’t you understand what you’re doing! Your putting my sister in the path of the same guy that ruined you! That caused you so much pain…”

“But he’s different now. He loves her, and I don’t think he’s going to screw that up.”

“Well I guess that you and I don’t see eye to eye anymore.”

“What?”

“You lied to me. You betrayed my sister by not telling her who Andrew really is, showing her the bastard that he always will be. How could you do that? How can you support them?”

“I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you. Cause she begged me not to, said she wanted to tell you herself.”

“Don’t you think this is important enough you should have told me anyway?”

“No Alex. Cause I talked to Andrew and I believe he’s changed. And nobody knows him better than me.”

“Oh really. Well if I remember correctly, he’s seemed to get to know quite a few girls while you were dating.”

“Alex, stop it!” Isabel said, tears threatening her eyes.

“Oh and that’s just the beginning, isn’t it Isabel? And I’m not going to let that happen to Julia, I’m not. And not even you’ll stand in my way.”

“Alex, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, maybe we should break it off for a little while. Reevaluate our relationship. You betrayed me, and my sister. That’s not something I think I can easily forgive.”

“Wait, Alex no! I love you,” the tears were running full throttle now.

“And I loved the Isabel that I knew. But this one, I don’t even know who she is anymore.” And with that, Alex walked out the front door, never looking back.

Isabel collapsed in the hallway in a fit of tears, not noticing Courtney in the doorway, who’d witnessed the whole exchange.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 69

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Courtney kneeled on the floor and enveloped her crying friend in her arms. The last thing she’d expected to happen, just did. Had hell frozen over? Were there pigs flying outside that she didn’t know about?

Neither one said anything, Court just held Isabel for as long as she needed until she stopped crying. The initial tears were beginning to fade away as she rubbed her hand in circles up and down her friends back in a soothing motion.

“Hey, why don’t we go upstairs, okay?” Courtney offered. Sure, everyone in the other room were close friends, but since they didn’t see what she’d seen, she had a feeling that it would just be much easier to take Izzie somewhere quiet for a while. She didn’t need to have to explain everything.

With a few sniffles and swipes of her hand at her eyes, Isabel nodded her head and allowed the other blond to help her stand.

“Come on,” with their arms around each other for support they made their way up the stairs to Isabel’s room. “Should I go tell everyone not to worry about us and to keep it down?” she asked.

“No, don’t do that. You go, join them. I don’t want to ruin everyone’s holiday.”

“But Izzie-” Court protested but was interrupted.

“No, I mean it. Go have fun. I’m just gonna take a nice long bubble bath and go to bed early. Okay?”

“If you’re sure…”

“Go on, I need some time alone,” she whispered before turning around to walk into her bathroom and closing the door in answer.

‘Damn…some holiday this turned out to be…Alex, you bastard!’ Courtney thought as she made her way back down to the party. Now what was she going to tell everyone? No Julia, no Alex, no Isabel…hmmm…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“It’s almost time!” Julia called from the living room.

“I’m coming!” Andy smiled as he reappeared from the kitchen with two champagne flutes and a bottle of sparkling cider.

It was just the two of them to celebrate the New Year now, and while she was still more than a little upset with her brother for being…well, she couldn’t even put it into words, calling him an idiot and a jackass just didn’t seem quite good enough. But she was putting that behind her, forgetting about it for the moment because right now she just wanted a normal moment with her boyfriend. Something that she’d always have to look back on.

Everything aside, Andy was amazed with the girl…no…young woman that stood before him. With everything that had happened in his past, now she knew it all and still she was there. No matter what differences it caused with her brother, she was willing to stay with him. And that was everything he could wish for and yet knew he didn’t deserve.

Julia smiled as she stood on her toes and pecked him on the lips quickly.

“Hey, not so fast, there. It’s not midnight yet,” he teased.

“But…” she pouted.

The voices on the TV broke in counting down as they turned to see the giant ball in time square on the screen, even though it had fallen 3 hours previously…TV time delays really are amazing, aren’t they?

“10…”

“…9…”

“…8…”

“…7…”

“…6…”

“…5…”

“…4…”

“…3…”

“…2…”

“…1…”

“Happy New Year!” the voices all screamed. But in the apartment everything was quiet. All alone in the center of the room Julia wrapped her arms tightly around Andy’s neck as he kissed her, devouring her mouth in pure hunger. It had been so long…too long, but now they were together again. Andy pulled her body closer against his if that was at all possible, gently caressing her sides with his hands as his tongue caressed her mouth.

When they finally pulled away for air he whispered, “Happy New Year, Juliet,” kissed her temple and then stepped back to pour them each a glass of cider. Julia was frozen in place for a moment. She’d never been involved in a relationship where just a touch could be so intense that it nearly floored her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The strains of ‘Think of Me’ from Phantom of the Opera woke her from a happy dream. Reaching out a hand she picked up the intruding piece of plastic and vaguely registered Isabel’s name on the caller ID before hitting the talk button.

“Hello?” she asked groggily and rubbed her eyes to see the numbers on the clock. 9:33 am. Why was she so tired? Oh yeah, she hadn’t gotten back to the apartment until nearly 4 in the morning…

“Julia? It’s Isabel, I…I was just wondering if Alex got home ok last night.” Julia instantly recognized the stuttering and wavering sound of her voice and the alarms in her mind started ringing.

“What’s wrong? I thought he was staying at the mansion. I got in late and didn’t look to see if he was here before collapsing on the couch.” Julia was already on her feet looking around and saw her brother’s keys sitting on the shelf where he usually put them when he got home. Good, at least she knew he was safe.

“He…he got really upset last night and he stormed out, and I’ve been worried about him. I didn’t want to call the apartment and have him answer the phone though…”

“Don’t worry, his keys are here, he got home, and I think that’s the shower that I hear right now. I’m sure he’s fine. Now do you want to tell me what happened?” She sat down on the couch to fold her blankets while listening.

“I don’t want to put it all on you…” sniffle sniffle.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to come over so we don’t have to do this over the phone? I can be there in fifteen minutes max if you want me.” There was no hesitation in Julia’s response. Over the months she’d come to admire Isabel a lot, she was her sister away from home, and who knows, maybe someday they really would be sisters…except whatever this is sounded rather serious.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“It’s no problem at all. I’m leaving right now, okay?”

Sniffle… “Thank you,” …sniffle.

In a flash Julia had her shoes on her feet and found a piece of paper lying around to scratch a little note to her brother letting him know she was taking his car so he wouldn’t freak when he emerged from the shower. Sure he’d probably be pissed at her later, but as far as she was concerned this all seemed to be his fault anyway. Then she was out the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She sighed as she sat back on the bed leaning against the headboard. What had happened with the world lately? How had things gotten so screwed up in their lives when everything had been idyllic mere weeks ago, days even.

“All I have to say is my brother is an idiot, Izzie,” Julia blurted. She didn’t mean it to come out that negative…okay so maybe she had, but she hadn’t meant to upset Isabel. And it was clear that she had upset the blond beside her who now had more tears dripping from her already red eyes.

“No Jul…”

“Don’t try to stand up for him. He is, but everything’s not completely his fault.” Julia took a deep breath as she realized the truth. “It’s my fault. It doesn’t really have anything to do with you, it’s my relationship with Andy that’s bothering him and he’s taking it out on you. I’m sorry Izzie.”

“What hurt him the most was that he thought I lied to him. He didn’t like the fact that I knew about you and Andrew and didn’t tell him…” Isabel went on to tell Julia everything that had transpired after she and Andy had left the mansion the night before. “So, really it’s my fault.”

“Iz, male stupidity is never a woman’s fault.” Isabel sighed and leaned back on the bed beside Julia in resignation. “Look, I’ll talk to my brother. I’m sure when he thinks about this he’ll realize that he wasn’t seeing things clearly.”

“But he was so upset…”

“I’m sorry, you’re right, maybe I was putting too much faith in my brother’s abilities to forgive. What business is it of his to forgive? If you can forgive Andy then that’s saying something, but Alex never even got to know him, he doesn’t know what kind of a guy he is, and he isn’t even going to give him a chance.”

They sat together for another hour just talking about anything with comfortable lulls where each just let her mind wander. Julia noticed it was getting late and glancing at the clock affirmed it.

“Are you going to be okay now?” she asked Isabel.

“Yeah, but what about you? If you and Alex aren’t on the best terms then how is it gonna work you staying with him?”

“I don’t know,” Julia sighed. “It’s only a few days and then I should be able to get back in to the dorm. But I haven’t talked to Alex yet. Who knows what’ll happen.”

“Well, if it doesn’t work, just call and you can stay here. We’ve got plenty of room for one more,” Isabel offered with as much of a smile as she could manage, though it wasn’t much.

“Thanks Izzie. It means a lot to me.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What?” Alex jumped a mile as the door of his apartment slammed as if in echo to the statement.

“You heard me. What the fuck was going through that peanut sized brain of yours when you broke up with your girlfriend?” Storming through the room she stopped dead in front of her brother, turning off the TV on her way. “I know you’re mad at me right now, and that’s fine! Be mad at ME! Yell and scream all you want, I’m right here in front of you. But why take it out on someone who had no part in what was happening? So what if she knew about me and Andy? She’s my friend. That’s what friends are for Alex, to keep your secrets when you ask them to. She wasn’t betraying you or whatever crap you thought was going on. I told her I wanted to be the one to tell you. Don’t hurt her for that!” Taking a deep breath Julia took a minute to calm down before finishing, “She loves you. Don’t throw it away and become a bitter angry fool.”

“Julia, don’t even go into that. She betrayed me. How could she do that? Saying that it’s okay for you to be with that…bastard…”

“Don’t you dare call him that Alex. You don’t even know Andy, you can’t judge him.”

“And you know him so well after what, three months?”

“Well I obviously know more about him than I do about you and I’ve known you all my life. See, here I was thinking that my big brother who I’ve always loved and admired and looked up to would accept my decision and trust my judgment. But hey, I was wrong. Appearances can be deceiving Alex, first impressions can be dangerous, so give him a god damn chance!”

“Would you listen to yourself for just a moment? Jules, you just said that appearances can be deceiving. What about Andrew, huh? He raped Isabel, he used to hit her and probably got some sick pleasure out of how she always came back for more! I’m trying to protect you. If you wouldn’t be so head strong and determined to ruin your life maybe you’d listen to me and be grateful.”

“Is that all that you think I am?! Some…mindless child who runs on whims? Well now you just proved my theory, cause you obviously have no idea who I am either.” Julia turned her back on her brother and began to gather her stuff together, which was already pretty much all in her bag. She was much calmer when she faced him once more. “Goodbye Alex, I’m going to stay at the mansion. I doubt I’ll be seeing you again if you’re so intent on ruining the best thing that came into your life.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Michael nudged the door of the nursery open a little wider he saw Maria sitting in the rocking chair with Carolyn in her arms gently rocking back and forth and humming to her softly. A smile crossed his face as he entered and knelt along side them.

“How’s my little princess?” he whispered as he brushed his fingers over her soft, baby fine hair. Maria smiled up at him, meeting his lips in a gentle kiss.

“She’s perfect. But Michael…” Maria turned her liquid green eyes in his direction. “I don’t want to leave her tomorrow!” The pools in her eyes overflowed and as the tear trickled down, Michael reached out and took Carolyn from her arms to place her in her bed, before pulling Maria up and sitting down in the rocker, pulling her back into his lap.

“Pixie, everything will be okay. You have to go back, you’ll regret it if you don’t. Besides, Kyle will be here in the morning and I’ll come back after ten, and then you’ll be home at one before I go back for my last classes. It’s fine. You’ll only be gone for five hours, we’ll manage, I promise. She’ll still be your little girl when you get home.”

“You’ll manage without me?!” Michael panicked when she raised her voice and rushed to make everything better.

“No, that’s not what I meant baby. I promise. I just, I know how important your education is to you. And I wanted to let you know that everything will be ok while you’re in class so that you don’t have to worry. You know Kyle is a good babysitter, he loves Carolyn and will always look out for her. And I’ll protect her with my life. So no worries, ok?”

Maria snuggled closer against his chest, burying her face in his warm, familiar scent. They stayed like that for a while, until Michael realized Maria had fallen asleep. He managed to stand up without waking her and made his way to the room they now shared together.

Laying her on the bed he looked over his fiancée’s body. She was a goddess, his gorgeous bride-to-be, and if he admitted it to himself, he was having such a hard time keeping things at the level he thought she wanted, and right now…this wasn’t helping. She was still in her clothes, and he knew she needed a goodnight’s sleep for classes in the morning, which she wouldn’t get in those tight jeans.

Shaking his head he went to her drawers and easily found her favorite pair of sweat pants. A deep breath…calm deep breaths…he could do this. It’s not like he hadn’t seen her before…touched her before. Hell, they already had a kid and were getting married sometime in the near future. Why was this so difficult? Maybe because they’d been sleeping in the same bed for nearly two weeks now and touching but not touching was becoming much more difficult.

Sitting on the edge of the bed he unbuttoned her jeans and lowered the zipper, marveling at the flat stomach revealed to him. Her soft white skin was calling out for his touch, but he resisted and finished the job as quickly as he could while she continued to sleep, none the wiser.

Stripping down to his boxers Michael joined her in bed, leaving space though, not sure he could handle being in skin to skin contact with her with the thoughts running through his mind at the moment. The next moment, however, she rolled over to rest her cheek against his chest, her arm falling across his waist. So much for that idea.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, how you holding up?” Courtney asked as she found a seat beside Maria in the still fairly empty classroom. Now she was glad she’d gotten here early so that she’d noticed her friend. She hadn’t known they had any classes together, but it was a definite plus.

“Huh? Oh hey Court!” Maria smiled and gave her a hug. “You’re in here too? That’s great, wanna be my study buddy?” the girls laughed.

“Sounds great partner. Now answer my question,” Court prodded.

“I’m okay…I want to dig out my phone and call the house but I know Michael will just laugh at me. I’ll be home in an hour and half…no problem, right?”

“Course not. You can do it. You’ve been away from her for longer than this before when you and Michael have gone out.”

“I know, but somehow that just seems so much different. You know?”

“Sure. Don’t worry cause this class will be cake. I’ve heard the professor is great, telling examples from his own life and experiences; it should be good.”

“Thanks, I needed a friend this morning. I have classes straight so I didn’t see any friendly faces all morning except when I stopped at the café to grab a drink before classes started and Tess was working.”

Soon enough class started and they dutifully stopped talking to pay attention to the professor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Sorry I couldn’t stay and talk earlier Max,” Michael apologized as he met his best friend at the door. It was a week into classes and so far their schedule was working smoothly.

“Don’t worry, I understand. I even brought lunch,” holding up the bag of subway sandwiches with a smile.

“Ahh, you know me well, Maxwell,” Michael smiled and brought drinks and essentials from the kitchen.

“So where’s my little niece?”

“Taking her afternoon nap so she’ll be happy and full of smiles when mommy gets home.”

“Oh,” Max smiled. It was amazing to see the difference in Michael now from say a year and a half ago. Family life seemed to suit him well.

They dug into their sandwiches and talked about random things for a while: school, new classes and getting adjusted to new schedules and jobs and such. Max was caught up in his head, trying to figure out why exactly he was here and what he wanted to say.

“So what’s it like?” he just blurted not knowing how else to start. He could be eloquent around Liz because she just brought that side of him out, but with his friends, guy friends at least, that sophistication was gone.

“What’s what like?”

“Living with the woman you love, having a family…all of it. What’s it like?”

“It’s…” Michael took a minute to really look at his friend. There had to be a reason he was bringing this up, it wasn’t coming out of nowhere. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love them and want to spend the rest of my life with them, better or worse. I guess the family life agrees with me, cause I know I was going stir crazy last spring. Where’s this coming from Max?”

“I…I want that too.”

“A family?” Realization dawned on Michael. “You and Liz…”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve loved her since I met her…as sappy as it sounds, it’s true.”

“I know. And I’m still sorry for my part in screwing everything up for you.”

“I’m not here to blame you Michael, we’ve gotten past this, haven’t we?” Michael nodded his head, but the thing was he just couldn’t help but apologize every time it was mentioned, he still felt responsible. “I just, I wanted to know what its like.”

“Are you going to marry her?”

“I’ve been thinking about it since…well really since she went up to LA with me for Thanksgiving. She just fit in perfectly with my family, you know?”

“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. So what are you going to do about it?” Michael was curious to find out just how much Max had thought this through.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So you still haven’t talked to your brother yet? Are you kidding me?!”

“No. He’s just making this so difficult. I’ve left him a few messages…”

“Yeah, and he’s left you a few too.”

“I wouldn’t call him screaming, yelling, and ranting on the machine messages. At least mine were polite,” Julia waved it off.

“Jul, come on…he’s your brother, give him a break!” Tammy sighed exasperatedly.

“But…”

“No, just let him cool down a little. And see it from his perspective. Did you really think that he’d just accept Andy all of a sudden? I mean seriously, things like that take time!”

“But that doesn’t give him a right to-”

“Jul! It doesn’t give him a right to yell at you, no, but also, what happened on New Years is partly your fault.”

“I don’t know how to make that up to Isabel.”

“No, I wasn’t talking about his breaking up with Isabel. You had nothing to do with that.”

“But I did…I told her to keep it from him.”

“You asked her to be a friend and she was, she didn’t lie to Alex, he just can’t understand that. Give him time I guess. Things will work out eventually.”

“But it’s driving me crazy! I’m stuck in the middle. Isabel’s my friend, but she’s my brother’s ex-girlfriend. And my brother only yells at me…and Andy, well, he’s trying to be supportive and all but I think it hurts him that the only family of mine he’s met, hates him.”

“But you’re with him, and it’s your relationship. Just let Andy know how you feel about him, and that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks Tam. God I missed you! You’re my voice of reason. From now on you’re not allowed to leave me for more than a weekend,” Julia teased, getting a laugh out of her roomie.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria smiled against his lips as she ran her fingers over his bare sculpted chest and pressed closer to his mouth. His hands moved from her hair to her shoulders, to her trim waist, playing with the edge of her tank top, tickling her ribs with his light touch.

She let the moans come out and slowly pulled her arms away from his enticing body to remove her all too encumbering article of clothing he was toying with. Once the shirt was gone she welcomed the touch of his hands on her cool body, loving the feel of being surrounded by him.

They’d gotten rather…friendly…since sharing a room, and Maria was beginning to feel like it wasn’t enough. Though they hadn’t really discussed it, there were boundaries neither one had been willing to cross yet. Almost an unspoken rule that they were going to wait. But now she was questioning that, because everything flowing through her was asking ‘why wait?’

Michael groaned at the soft fall of her body back down against his. She was gonna be the death of him, her and those wandering-

As if his life depended on it he sprang up, away from her, not able to take it anymore. Those little hands had a mind of their own, he was sure of it now. Taking a few deep breaths he calmed himself enough to not melt at the butterfly kisses she dabbed across his shoulder.

“What’s wrong Michael?” Maria asked sincerely but with a sly grin lighting her impish green eyes.

“Maria, I can’t take this anymore. Maybe we should just go back to the separate rooms…” The open mouth kiss she placed him on his shoulder managed to silence him.

“Why would you want to do that?” her voice was low and seductive

“Because I don’t know if I can-”

“Wait?” she finished for him. “Why wait?” Maria leaned back against her pillows, this time completely serious, no mischief present.

“But I thought that you-”

“All I want is you, Michael. I love you, and we’re getting married. It doesn’t matter to me if we wait until we’re married. I mean really, we already have a daughter anyway.”

“Well yeah, but I…I guess I just thought that you wanted it to be something special. You know…since you don’t really remember the first time and all.” He felt like he was rambling as he tried to look her in the eyes and not at her chest which was so tempting…

“Well, I do remember some things about that night, its sort of come back a little at a time. I remember you tried to take me home…I just wouldn’t let you. Even then you were irresistible. And I remember your gentleness, and your soft kisses. It wasn’t a bad experience and I don’t want to wait for our wedding to experience that again.”

Michael just stared at her. How had he ever managed to win her heart? He’d never know, but he wasn’t going to question it now. Not here with the two of them together, alone, and shirtless in her bed. No, now was their time.

“I love you Pixie,” Michael smiled as his lips descended on her own and he wrapped her body with his, showing her every ounce of affection he had in his power. This time, he wanted it to be something well worth remembering.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz sat on the couch holding Carolyn in her lap.

“Aren’t you just a precious little angel?” she cooed softly. Maria just chuckled beside her. Of course her daughter was cute! Isn’t it some unwritten law that all babies are adorable? All baby girls at least! “So you guys…?” Liz asked looking up to her best friend.

“Yeah,” Maria nodded with a silly smile. She couldn’t hide anything from her best friend.

“Please tell me you were careful this time. Cause as much as I love you, baby, I’m sure you’re not ready for a little brother or sister, are you?”

“Don’t worry, we’re being careful. Trust me, I think mom would die right now if I told her she was gonna be a grandma again. I mean, she’s not even forty and she’s a grandma, that nearly killed her the first time around,” they both laughed.

“Good, I’m glad. So…”

“So…what?”

“What? How was it?” Liz rolled her eyes as if it were obvious.

“I can’t tell you that in front of my daughter!”

“Ria, she’s not even a year old, she won’t know what we’re saying!” Liz shook her head at the absurdity of the idea.

“Well, it was…perfect. I mean, you know how everyone acts like you have to have everything all planned out for the perfect evening? It’s not true. Just having it being the two of us there together, being honest with one another, that’s what made it perfect. No roses or candles or soft music needed.” Coming out of her dreamy haze she looked to her dark haired friend.

“What about you and Max, how are you two doing? Anything happening there?” she quirked an enquiring eyebrow.

“No, well, I mean, not like you and Michael. We’ve been getting a lot closer whenever we are together. But with my work and his new internship, and school, we’re lucky if we even get a few moments each day. Sometimes we’ll study together, not even for the same classes, just as long as we’re in the same room, close, it makes me feel better, you know? You’re lucky to have Michael always there.”

“I guess I am. But chica, you could do something about that.”

“I know…but I don’t think we’re ready for that.”

“Then chica, what do you want?”

“Max.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex passed Maria in the hall and stopped to see his ‘two favorite girls’ as he called them before saying goodbye as they were in a hurry, and continued on to Liz’s door. Knocking briefly as if in warning or to announce his presence he walked right on in and flopped down on the couch.

“What’s wrong this time?” Liz asked. She knew that face, he was hiding something, or at least he was here to talk about something that she would soon find out.

“Julia won’t talk to me,” he blurted.

“That’s something new? Alex you said that last week when you came in. Hello?! She’s not going to call you back when the only messages you leave her are yelling at her and telling her how stupid she is. That isn’t the way to get through to her.”

“I just…I’m trying to look out for her. She’s my baby sister and I have to protect her.”

“You also have to let her grow up, live her own life and make her own decisions.” Alex sighed and sank further into the couch if that was possible. He’d heard the same thing numerous times by now. Liz wasn’t sure about whether or not she should broach the next topic, but since Alex was being so silent she decided to go for it. “What about Isabel?”

“What about her?”

“Have you tried to talk to her?” Liz prodded.

“Why would I? We broke up, it’s no big deal Lizzie,” he brushed it off.

“But it is! Look at what it’s done to you.”

“What breaking up with her has done to me? How about how she betrayed me and what that’s done to my relationship with Julia?! She’s the reason my sister won’t talk to me. It’s all gone to hell and it’s all her fault!” he fumed. Liz’s eyes went wide at the revelation. Alex had been opening up to her since shortly after New Years when he needed someone to talk to, and never had he said anything like this. Liz was sure this would cause some serious problems later on. Alex couldn’t mean what he was saying, he just couldn’t.

“You don’t mean that Alex.”

“Yes I do,” he affirmed. “She knew how important family was to me, yet she still knowingly let that asshole who had hurt her many times in the past see my sister behind my back without even warning me. How can I forgive that? I mean, is she just out to see someone else get hurt like she was?! What kind of sick game is that?”

“Alex, I’m sure she didn’t mean-”

“No Liz, that’s where you’re wrong. She knew exactly what she was doing.”

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this Alex,” Liz’s voice was calm and collected; it was the only way she’d learned to deal with his outbursts. “It’ll take time, but I think you need to look past the anger and try to see the big picture. Maybe you’ll realize a few things.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel sat in the living room looking at her friends around her. Her brother and Maria were on the floor with Carolyn who was trying her absolute hardest to crawl away but getting nowhere. Liz was on one end of the couch, closest to the hall and at any little noise she’d look up to see if it was Max coming back from the hospital yet. Tess and Kyle had the other end of the couch. Justin was sitting in the other arm chair beside Isabel’s, with Courtney happily situated on his lap. Their relationship had been steady since the new semester started, and no one was sure what to make of it. They were all so used to Justin and Court’s random squabbling that it seemed abnormal for them to be so…with it…all of a sudden.

Everyone seemed happy, with their significant others…except Isabel. God, she hated this. They were talking about Alex at the moment, everyone wondering what was going on with him. Isabel had the sneaking suspicion that he would have been here as long as she wasn’t. It just wasn’t fair. It was splitting up their whole group of friends.

“But he does have a point,” Michael interjected. “How are we supposed to know that Andrew’s changed?”

“Michael, do you honestly think that I would let Julia be in a relationship with him after he hurt me? I care about her too much for that. She is my friend you know. I talked with Andrew, and I know he’s telling me the truth now. He’s been mostly honest with Julia all along, and I think she’s good for him.”

“How can you, of all people, give the guy a second chance, Iz?”

“What about you Michael? You got a second chance, shouldn’t he? Look how much you’ve changed, how happy you are now. Don’t you consider yourself lucky you got that second chance?”

“She’s right Michael,” Maria’s voice was soft when she spoke. She had to agree with Isabel. She knew people could change because she’d experienced it first hand with him. “Give Andrew a chance. If Isabel can forgive him, then you can. She’s the only one with something to hold against him.”

“Thanks Maria,” Isabel smiled. She knew she liked her soon-to-be sister-in-law for a reason, aside from her beautiful little niece…

“Maybe…but it won’t happen overnight,” Michael finally conceded.

“Things take time Michael, I understand that. Just don’t be outwardly hostile whenever I invite him and Julia out with us, that’s all I’m asking.”

“So does anyone know if Alex has talked to his sister yet?” Courtney asked.

“No, he hasn’t,” Liz sighed. “They keep trading messages, but its not getting them anywhere, he’s just getting angrier I think, and more unreasonable.”

“Can’t we do something about this?” Justin piped up. “I mean, aside from hitting Alex over the head with a sledgehammer?”

“Justin!” Court playfully smacked his arm. “That’s horrible. Besides, a rubber mallet would do the job without all the mess!”

“You guys!” Tess exclaimed. “I think we should just give them time to work it out on their own without getting in their way.”

“Yeah, I think Tess is right,” Isabel sighed. She missed him, but she’d give him the time to come to terms with everything that had happened.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So are you guys doing anything special today?”

“No, not really. Well, I actually I took a bunch of pictures of her this morning in that dress that Grandma Claudia sent me. She’s so sweet. I’ll have to send her one of the pictures.”

“That was awfully nice of her. I’ll have to say something to her next time I pass by her shop. So how’s my baby’s baby?” Maria could tell from the sound of her mother’s voice how much she really missed her.

“She’s crawling like crazy, you would not even believe it.”

“I bet I could…” Images of a tiny Maria with little blond curls splashed across her tiny head crawling away with Amy chasing after her flashed through Amy’s mind.

“She hasn’t gotten anymore teeth yet, just those first two so far.”

“Well enjoy the silence you have right now then. It won’t last long until she’s got another one. She’s getting so big!”

“I know…I know…”

“So any plans for the wedding yet?” Amy hinted. She was still curious as to what might be going on there. They were engaged and just being around them, she knew her daughter and Michael wouldn’t be able to wait too long, it wasn’t their style.

“No mom, not yet,” Maria sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes all at once. Both of their parents were wondering, but she and Michael had decided to do this on their own time, only their decisions mattered.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey ragboy,” Tammy smiled when she saw who it was who’d just walked in the room. “Jul’s still getting ready.”

“You know I still don’t get that nickname…” Andy mumbled to himself as he scratched his head.

“Hello? Raggedy Anne and Andy…your name is Andy…” still seeing the blank look on his face she decided to give it up. “You obviously never watched those cartoons…never mind.”

“Okay…” Andy pondered it a bit more but gave up. Julia was Julia, not Anne…

“Anyways, where ya takin her tonight?” Tammy couldn’t help but be curious, after all her love life was non-existent so she lived vicariously through her roommate.

“Nowhere special. Just to see a play at the playhouse.”

“Nowhere special? Gees boy, you must have some definition of special!” she whistled.

“Well I know she likes Shakespeare, so I thought maybe it’d help to take her mind off of everything with her brother. It’s been bothering her a lot and I just want her to be able to forget about it for a few hours.”

“Yeah, it’ll get her out of here so she won’t hear any of the messages he’s leaving. Oh, by the way, in case she hasn’t told you, if you get the machine, just start leaving a message cause we’re screening our calls.”

“Is it really that bad?” Andy sat down on the edge of Julia’s bed and rested his head in his hands. He had no idea things had gotten so terrible…but apparently she was keeping things from him.

“Unfortunately.”

“Damn…” he cursed. “I never wanted this to happen...” The two sat in silence for a while, neither saying anything as Tammy went back to her work.

“Hey baby! When’d you get here?” Julia was all smiles as she sat beside her boyfriend wrapping her arms around him. “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, don’t worry, besides Tam is a great hostess. You ready to go?” he asked as he stood up and offered her a hand. When she was standing beside him he got a good look at her in a new dress he hadn’t seen before. “You look beautiful, and I love the dress,” he whispered in her ear as he kissed her cheek making her blush.

“Thank you. Bye Tammy, don’t let Allie wear you out by studying too hard tonight.” With a wave they were gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“We need to talk.”

“About…”

“You know what I’m here for Alex.”

“Look, I’m sorry that I broke up with your sister, but I can’t be with someone who’d betray me like that.”

“Okay, let’s start with something else first before we get into my sister,” Michael sighed as he sat himself down on Alex’s couch. He wasn’t even completely sure why he was here himself, but he just felt that there was something only he could really say.

“Go ahead,” Alex sighed, resigned to the fact that he wouldn’t get Michael out of his apartment until he’d said what he’d come to say.

“I know that you’re against your sister being with Andrew, but remember that once upon a time you were against me and Maria.”

“That was different-” Alex started to defend but Michael cut him off.

“How? He hurt my sister horribly, and I hurt Maria, took advantage of her. But I got a second chance from the only person who had a right to give me that, and that was Maria herself. Now he has a second chance, not with my sister, but with yours. He’s made peace with Isabel and she believes that he’s really changed, and it took time, but I’ve realized that she’s right, she’s the one he hurt, if she can forgive him, then I need to get past it, and I have. Julia went to Isabel first, and don’t you think that Isabel checked to make sure he wouldn’t hurt your sister? Isabel’s not the kind of person who would just sit there and watch what happened to her as it happened to someone else, let alone someone she cares about.

“Now what I do know, is that you’ve hurt my sister and yours with what you’ve done. Your sister won’t forgive you until you let her live her own life, respect her decisions and trust her judgment. About Isabel, well I don’t know if I want her taking you back. You hurt her so bad when you laid all of the blame for this on her. I don’t know how someone who claimed that he loved her could just turn around and do that; I honestly don’t. But when I look at her, I see how miserable she is. She’s lost and lonely without you.”

Alex sat stunned at Michael’s speech. What had he been expecting, a pat on the back? But for Michael to stand up for Andrew?! It was absurd…

“Michael, you and Andrew aren’t the same!”

“Sure we are…I just turned around sooner, and you were more ready to accept me I think because Maria wasn’t family; she might be close, but she just isn’t family, and Julia is. That’s the difference, isn’t it?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

Alex didn’t respond…he just stared at his hands.

“Just think about what I said.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I don’t know…what do you think?”

“I don’t know. It’s not my decision that matters.”

“But I can’t decide on my own.”

“Don’t you think that Maria would be better at this than me?” Michael added for his case.

“You can’t say that. I mean, you picked out her ring, and it’s gorgeous Michael. It’s perfect for her.”

“Exactly Maxwell. It’s perfect for Maria because I picked it out myself. I think the best thing you can do is find something that you feel just completely suits her. That’s the whole point of it.”

“But…I…still, can’t you at least give me your opinion?”

“Well, yeah, but I still think Maria would be better at this than me. I don’t even know Liz that well. I mean, we’re friends and all, but I don’t think I could tell you what kind of jewelry she’d like.”

“So do you think she’d like this one?” Max asked lifting up a white gold band with a good sized diamond glittering in the center.

“I think she’s more of a gold person. The necklace that she always wears is gold, so that’d probably be a better bet.”

“Did you just hear yourself?” Max almost laughed out loud in the store but stopped himself to not draw too much attention to themselves. “Michael, you’re more observant than you think you are. Just give me your honest opinion like you just did, that’s all I’m asking for.”

“Okay,” Michael sighed in defeat. But at least now he knew that he had Max’s complete trust back. Because there was no other way he’d be in the store with him right now if he didn’t.

“So something gold…okay.”

“And not too big of a stone, she’s not a really showy person, and you don’t want her to be intimidated by it,” Michael piped up, happy to be of service all of a sudden. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyle just looked at Justin strangely for a while, not sure what to say. They’d both been silent since the girls had gotten up to use the restroom, because of course they had to go together. What did they think the guys did while they were gone?

“So what is with you two?” Kyle finally broke the silence, not able to stand it anymore; he had to find out what was going on.

“What do you mean?” Justin looked at him strangely.

“Oh come on…the sappiness, the hanging on each other, its sickeningly sweet. It’s almost like Max and Liz,” he added as an afterthought. It was kinda funny, but scary at the same time.

“I have no idea…”

In the ladies room…

“So what have you done to Justin? He’s like a little puppy!” Tess laughed as she washed her hands at the sink.

“What are you talking about? He’s not some slobbery dog; he’s my boyfriend. Nothing’s happened to him. He may not be perfect, but no one is.”

“But Court…seriously, since we all came back from our holidays, everyone has noticed it. And well…we’re just curious, what’s going on with you two…”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” Courtney feigned. This was kinda fun…not only was her relationship with her boyfriend even better than she could’ve hoped, but she was playing with her friends minds. Life was great!

“The sappiness…hanging on his every word…him finishing your sentences and vice versa…it’s…it’s like my sister!”

Earlier that evening…

Tess and Courtney were waiting outside the restaurant talking amongst themselves when their boyfriends finally sauntered up.

“Sorry we’re late,” Kyle apologized as he wrapped his arm around Tess’s shoulders to bring her in for a hug.

“No problem,” she smiled up at him just glad to see him.

“Sorry Sweet-cheeks,” Justin grinned as he walked up to Courtney with both hands behind his back. “But I just had to get something first. This is for you.” Pulling out one hand in a flourish, he passed her a thornless pink rose, enjoying the looks of surprise and pleasure crossing her face.

“Thank you baby,” she cooed, standing on her tippy toes to kiss him. But it wasn’t over yet, because when he pulled back he brought out the other hand from behind his back and was rewarded with a little squeal of delight. A little white teddy bear, no more than six inches high with a little pink nose was placed in her hands. “Oh! You’re the best baby-cakes!”

“Anything for you darling,” Justin responded smoothly. He loved being able to surprise her like that.

Off to the side Kyle and Tess were looking on in astonished and bewildered states. Had aliens come and abducted their friends or what?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel sighed as she lay back on her bed wiping at the tears after replacing the phone receiver. She’d been so emotional lately. Emotional, lonely, depressed, tired... It was tiring trying to put on a happy face for her friends. Now she took the time to just lay there in the silence and let it wash over her for a while, not sure of anything, least of all time, it could’ve been hours, minutes, days and she wouldn’t have known the difference.

In the last four weeks she’d been trying to keep it all together, but all of a sudden she felt like her world was falling apart. There was too much going on and she hadn’t even noticed…two and a half months…god, why hadn’t she noticed before. This had to be the worst timing in the world.

“Damn it, what have I done?” she allowed herself to cry aloud in despair.

“Hey, don’t you dare go blaming yourself,” a friendly sympathetic voice floated into her world, followed by the light thud of the closing door. “Are you okay?”

“No…” she sniffled, not bothering to get up.

“Well you won’t know for sure until you get up and do this,” Maria coaxed.

“I know…but I’m afraid.”

“I know how you feel sweetie,” Maria rubbed her hand. “But I’m here for you, no matter what.”

“But why now? Of all times, why now?”

“Because life screws us all,” Maria offered with a smile.

“Yeah, no shit.”

“Did I really just hear you say that?! Isabel Guerin, I am astonished!”

“I know. See what this is all doing to me? I’m going crazy.”

“Hey, no more of that. Come on, let’s get you up, wipe those tears away, and find out for sure.”

“Okay…” Isabel sighed in resignation, knowing she’d made the right decision in calling Maria.

Both sat anxiously on the edge of the bathtub waiting minutes later. Memories flooded Maria’s mind as she sat there watching her friend. She could remember how she’d felt in Isabel’s place, and there wasn’t much she could say to make that go away. She just hoped for Isabel’s sake, that it would be different for her.

Isabel wasn’t sure what she’d do if it was positive. How had Maria done it? She’d always been like this giant pillar of strength, and right now all she wanted to do was crumble. Would she be a good mother? What about Alex? What would he think? Would he blame her?

The ring woke them both up from their drifting thoughts. Isabel looked to her left and Maria nodded in encouragement. Taking a deep breath she found the courage to stand and on wobbly legs made her way to the counter.

This was it…

The moment of truth…

Just one more step and she’d be there.

It was right in front of her now; all she had to do was look down. Stealing herself for the results Isabel closed her eyes, then opened them and looked down. Her eyes went wide in disbelief.

Oh god!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[Pegleg]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 70

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh god!” she gasped, repeating the words aloud that were reverberating through her head.

Collapsing in a heap on the floor, her legs no longer able to hold her, Isabel let the tears flow, finally releasing all the tension and pressure she’d been feeling over the last few hours. Her sobs reverberated through the small room, and even Isabel herself was amazed by the intensity of the emotions flowing out of her. Thank god! It was negative.

Maria’s heart broke at the sight of her friends defeated form. Fearing the worst, Maria was immediately at Isabel’s side, running a soothing hand in circles over her back, offering comforting words.

“It’s okay Izzie. Everything’s gonna be okay. Your friends and your brother, we’ll all here for you. We’ll get through this.”

Isabel just sobbed more heavily, touched by her friend’s words. She wanted more than anything to put Maria’s fears aside, but try as she might, she couldn’t get the sobs to stop long enough to get the words out.

Hiccupping, Isabel chocked a little, trying to bring air into her starved lungs. When she’d finally caught her breath, she turned to Maria, tears still stinging her eyes.

“I…I’m not…[cough]…I’m not pregnant Maria. It was a false alarm,” Isabel smiled, despite her tear stained face, holding up the negative test.

Maria smiled, giving her friend a hug. “See, I told you everything was going to be okay.”

Isabel chuckled slightly, trying to wipe the streaks from her face. It was a relief really. She wasn’t sure what she would have done had the results turned out differently.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Julia sat in the café, trying to read her book, but she kept finding her gaze moving towards the door. Every little movement, every ring of the bell on the café door, her head would snap up, just for her hopes to be dashed again.

Looking at her watch for what was probably the hundredth time since she’d arrived, Julia sighed. He wasn’t coming; she’d been waiting for over an hour. As much as she’d prepared herself for this, expected it even, it was still all the harder to accept.

Putting her book in her bag, Julia left some money on the table, paying for her coffee and walking with heavy heart out of the café, heading for home and hoping against anything that Tammy would be there for her to help her sort all her feelings out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What’s wrong?” Tammy asked as Julia walked in, silent, before laying down on her bed. There was just something about the way that Julia walked in…sad…defeated…and silent, Julia was never silent.

“He didn’t come. I called Alex and asked him to meet me at the café so we could talk, try to work things out, and he didn’t come.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Tammy walked over to Julia’s bed, hearing the tears in her voice. “I’m sure there’s some other explanation. Maybe he didn’t get the message.”

“Oh he got the message. I’m sure of it. I left it days ago. And I’ve left three since.”

“Well then, maybe he just forgot. That happens right? Or maybe something happened, and he couldn’t make it. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this Jul.”

“Yeah, whatever. Look Tam I think I’m just gonna go to bed, okay? I’m kinda tired.”

“Yeah, alright. I’ll just go to the study room to read.”

“Thanks,” Julia said, smiling slightly before rolling over to face the wall, turning her back towards Tammy.

Sighing, Tammy grabbed her book and Julia’s cell phone, before leaving the room and walking down the hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thanks for coming,” Tammy said as she unlocked the door to her and Julia’s dorm room. “I’ve never seen her like this. She just seems so…broken. I thought she might need someone right now, and she doesn’t seem all that responsive to me.”

Andy just nodded, taking in everything that she’d just said. He’d driven over as soon as Tammy had called, worried for his girlfriend. He knew that her arguments with Alex were bothering her, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

Andy stepped through the doorway, seeing the room dark and Julia curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow to her. He took another step forward and was at her beside before he even realized it.

“I’ll just leave you two alone,” Tammy said. Andy didn’t even turn around, just nodded his head in acknowledgement.

Kneeling down by her bedside, Andy whispered her name quietly, not wanting to disturb her. “Hey Julia, sweetie,” he ran his hand over her head, pushing the hair out of her face so to better see her. “It’s me,” Andy continued seeing the tear stained streaks on her cheeks.

Julia opened her eyes, barely able to see her boyfriend’s face in the dim light from the window. She smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Hi,” she said, her voice somewhat gravely from her crying.

“Hey. How are you doing? You alright?”

“No,” Julia answered truthfully. “Alex…he…”

“I know,” Andy interrupted, “Tammy called me.”

She nodded her head, closing her eyes again, which were still stinging from crying.

“What can I do?” Andy asked finally, feeling helpless. How did she do it? How was she so good at comforting him, while he felt like a bumbling fool?

“Hold me?” Her voice sounded so meek and weak, like all of the sudden she wasn’t sure of anything she thought she knew.

Andy smiled, thinking it was the least he could do. Taking off his shoes and shrugging out of his jacket, he laid down on the bed next to her, allowing her to settle herself in his arms and comfort in the warmth and love she found there.

Julia sighed, letting herself melt into him. She still sniffled from time to time, and every once and a while Andy felt the hot wetness of tears against his shirt. With each movement, each noise, he just held her tighter, attempting to transfer some of his strength to her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey Kyle,” Liz said, letting him in. “Tess will be out in just a minute; she’s almost done.”

“Alright. Hey Max,” Kyle greeted, seeing him on the couch. Max waved as Liz came back to sit down next to him.

“Where you guys going?” Max asked Kyle as Liz snuggled into his side, ready to start the movie they were planning on watching.

“Just out to dinner. There’s this Thai food place in RB that I’ve been wanting to try.”

“Mmmm. Sounds good,” Max responded. “Well, have fun.”

“We will,” Tess responded, having just come out of the bedroom.

Kyle, having not seen her walk in, turned and his jaw dropped. She was wearing a small, spaghetti strapped dress that seemed to hug her in just the right places, and Kyle found himself extremely grateful for the unusually warm winter weather.

“You never cease to astound me,” Kyle muttered softly. With a wondrous chuckle, “Every time I think this is it, she’s perfect, she couldn’t be any more beautiful…you go and prove me wrong.”

“Wow!” Tess said, dumbfounded. “A girl could get used to compliments like that.” Then after a moment, “No, on second thought…I don’t think I girl could ever get used to compliments like that.”

Bringing himself back to reality, Kyle walked up to his girlfriend, giving her a kiss hello. “You look beautiful,” he whispered softly and Tess laughed.

“Yeah, I think I got that much.”

“You ready to go,” Kyle asked, not at all embarrassed by his previous admission. What could he say? It’s what he felt.

“Yeah,” Tess smiled. “Let’s go.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Who’s the cutest little girl in the whole world? You are! That’s right. You are,” Max said in a baby voice as he held Carolyn in his arms. Maria sat in a chair across from him, laughing. It really was cute.

“Are you mocking me?” Max asked, feigning hurt.

“Yes,” Maria answered without a thought.

Max glared at her, but it was only half hearted.

“So,” Maria started. “Was there a reason for why you came over here? Or did you just want to play with my beautiful daughter?”

“Well actually,” Max said, putting Carolyn back in her play pen. “There is something I wanted to talk about?”

“Well, Michael went up to the store. But he’ll be back any minute…” Maria started, but Max interrupted her.

“No, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh. Okay. Shoot.”

“It’s about Liz…”

“Max,” Maria sighed. “Liz loves you. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Well, you see…it’s more complicated then that. I was thinking about asking her…” Max trailed off as realization came to him. “Wait, you know already, don’t you?”

“Max babe, you should know that Michael and I don’t keep any secrets from each other. Of course I know that you want to ask Liz to marry you. And I think that’s great…”

“So you’ll think she’ll say yes?” Max rushed out anxiously.

“Max, I think you know the answer to that question better than anybody. And I have a feeling that you already know that answer, or you wouldn’t have bought that ring.”

“I know the answer I’m hoping for…”

“Hosnestly Max, Liz loves you, more than anything. I know that. You know that. That’s all that really matters. If you want to spend the rest of your life with her, then ask her. She loves you; she’s not gonna turn her back on you.”

“But what if I decide to go to med school? I’m so worried about the strain that’ll put on our relationship. And I don’t want to hold her back either. I know she’s planning to go to grad school, and can’t keep her from that. I don’t want her to feel like I’m tying her down.”

Maria sighed. “Max, you’re thinking too much. This is something for you and Liz to work out together. I’m sure you could find a place where you’ll both be happy, where you can go to med school and her to grad school. You two might have to give a little bit, but that’s what being a couple is about.”

“But…”

“And if I remember correctly, Liz already said that you would work through this. That no matter what problems came around, that you’d work through them together. She wants to be with you Max. Don’t let potential future problems stop you from having what you want now.”

Max was silent for a while, soaking in everything that Maria had said. “So, you think she’ll say yes?” he asked again, after a moment.

Maria groaned in frustration; this boy was incorrigible. “You want me to go ask her. I could call her up to check on that if you want,” Maria remarked sarcastically.

“Alright, alright. I get the picture. Thanks Maria,” Max said, coming over to give her a hug.

“Anytime,” Maria smiled, happy for her friends. Max was a good guy, and she knew that he and Liz would be happy together. “And if it’s any consolation Max, I would be genuinely surprised if she said no.”

Max grinned. Now just that much more confident about what he was going to do. He just hoped beyond anything that Maria’s intuition was right.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmmmm, smells good,” Andy said, wrapping his arms around Julia from behind and giving her a quick peck, relishing in the feeling of her body leaning against his.

“I’m glad. I’m making fettuccini alfredo and garlic bread.”

“I can’t wait,” he said, placing a kiss on the crown of her head before relinquishing his hold to let her get back to work. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Um…you can set the table. It’s almost done.”

Andy just nodded his head as he began moving around his kitchen, grabbing up plates and silverware and walking over to the small table in his living room. Sure, he could have afforded a bigger place, but he liked it here. It was small and quaint, just the change he had been looking for when he moved out of his parent’s house.

Once Julia finished, they ate dinner, talking occasionally, but most of the time was filled with comfortable silences. Julia loved these times they had together, just the two of them being a couple. Her mind turned to less serene thoughts as she wished them being together didn’t have to come at such a high price.

Andy noticed the change in her demeanor, but didn’t question her on it now. He was going to deal with that later, but for right now, he was going to enjoy the time they had together. He wasn’t sure what he was gonna do without it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thanks for driving me home,” Julia said once they were at the door of her dorm room.

“Not a problem. Hey, do you think I could come in for a minute?”

“Hmmm…why?” Julia asked playfully. “Should I ask what your plans are?”

“There’s something we need to talk about,” Andy said seriously.

Julia frowned, wondering what this was about. “Oh, ok,” she said, unlocking the door and letting Andy in.

They sat on the couch, Andy taking a deep breath upon looking into Julia’s nervous eyes before starting.

“I was wondering if you’d talked to your brother lately.”

“Alex? No. I haven’t really tried since the other day when he didn’t meet me. If he’s not going to make the effort, why should I?” Even with the indifferent way she said it, Andrew could tell that it hurt. This had been what he was afraid of.

“Don’t pretend that it doesn’t matter to you Julia. I know it does.”

Julia just sat silent, not having a retort.

“Look Julia, I love you. Really I do. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. You’re my rock,” he smiled despondently. “But I can’t be the one that comes between you and your brother. I can’t.”

“You’re not,” she tried to argue, but he wouldn’t hear any of it.

“That’s a lie and we both know it.”

Julia conceded, not saying anything. Looking into his eyes, she was afraid of where this conversation was going.

“I know how much your brother means to you, and I see how much it’s tearing you apart that you’re fighting. Now I love you, remember that. But I think it might be better if we didn’t see each other until you can work things out with Alex.”

“But…things aren’t going to be worked out with Alex unless it means we’re not together,” Julia said, tears stinging her eyes.

“Then maybe it’s better this way,” Andy said, chocking back his regret. He didn’t want this any more than she did, but he couldn’t let her live like this.

“Don’t say that…”

“I love you my Juliet…enough to let you go.”

Julia sat silent, the tears streaming down her face. She knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. They sat in silence for a few moments, moments that seemed like an eternity, yet at the same time were over all too soon. They tried to memorize each other’s features, afraid this would be the last moment they’d ever have together.

Andy kissed her one last time, not able to resist. He felt her wet tears on his cheek and had to fight his own tears back. He couldn’t do this; he had to stay strong.

Somehow, he found the strength to stand, and with one last loving look, he whispered, “I love you,” before walking out the front door and out of her life.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Through the course of the night, Julia’s hurt gave way to anger, and that’s where she found herself, storming into Alex’s apartment the next morning.

Surprised by the forceful opening of the door, Alex turned around from where he was sitting on the couch eating breakfast. To say he was shocked to see Julia standing there was an understatement. She slammed the door behind her, and before Alex could register what was happening she was standing in front of him ranting and yelling.

“…all your fault. Andrew broke up with me because you and I aren’t speaking.”

“Good.”

*Slap*

The sound resonated through the silent room. Alex held his face at the slight stinging he felt there. Julia had hit him. His sister had never hit him before…ever.

“How dare you say that to me?”

Alex, still shocked, didn’t respond.

“Look Alex, I have tried. I’ve tried to come to some sort of compromise with this situation, but nothing’s working so far. I love you Alex. You’ve always been the best brother a girl could ask for, but I’m not going to let you stop me from being happy. So whether you accept us or not, I’m going to go back to Andy and beg him to take me back. I’m not going to let you stand in the way of us. So the choice is up to you Alex, accept us or not, it’s up to you.”

Alex stayed silent, not knowing how to respond.

“Don’t make me chose Alex,” Julia sobbed, sitting on the couch next to him. Her anger turned to desperation as she finally let the tears fall that had been threatening since she’d arrived. “You can’t make me choose between him and you Alex, please. It’s not fair.” And with that she broke down crying, scarcely able to draw breath through her sobbing.

It wasn’t until then that Alex realized the full affect that their separation had had on his sister. They’d always been close, so it was only natural that this would hurt her. Honestly, it hurt him too.

Wrapping his sister in his arms Alex decided it was time to put arguments aside. This was his sister and he wasn’t going to lose her because of this guy. No matter how much Alex disapproved of Andrew, he would trust his sister not to get into anything with him that she couldn’t handle. He’s just have to hope that what he thought was wrong and that Andrew’s intentions really were what he’s said.

“Jules, sweetie. I’m sorry,” he hugged her to him, trying to quite her tears. “We can work this out alright. I’m sorry.”

She just held onto him tighter, letting his shirt soak up her tears. Hearing his words were a comfort, as Julia was sure her brother was starting to come around. They still had a lot to talk about, but at least the fighting was over.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Good morning Michael,” Isabel said as she walked into the kitchen were her brother was heating up a bottle for Carolyn.

“Hey Iz, what’s up?”

“Not too much. Just thought I’d stop bye to say hi on my way to class. So how’s my little niece anyway?”

“Between her parents and all her aunts and uncles, I think she gets more than enough attention,” Michael smiled. “She’s so spoiled,” he laughed.

“What else is her auntie for?” Isabel smirked.

“She’s in the living room if you want to say hi,” Michael smiled.

Isabel laughed. “Maybe in a bit. Look, I was thinking, and wanted to let you know that I want to watch Carolyn on Valentine’s Day so you and Maria can go out.”

“Really?” Michael asked. “Truthfully, we hadn’t really thought about it, but that would be great sis. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well it’s not like I have anything to do.”

Michael looked at his sister sadly. “He’ll come around Izzie. Just give it some time.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone keeps saying. Personally, I just don’t know anymore.”

Michael gave his sister a comforting hug, knowing there was little more he could do. Isabel smiled, knowing without words that Michael was saying he was there for her. Even though she already knew that, it was still a comfort.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey baby,” Max said, leaning down to kiss his girlfriend. “Happy Valentines Day,” he announced, producing a bouquet of red roses from behind his back.

“Oh…thank you,” Liz said, kissing him again, before he sat down across from her at the table. “So where are we going tonight.”

“You’ll see. It’s a surprise. Were you able to get off work early?”

“Yup, everything’s all set. Dr. Carter was very understanding. He says ‘Hi’ by the way.”

Max blushed, but smiled. “Well then I’ll pick you up at seven, alright? I’m just gonna go get a cup of coffee then I’m off to class. I just wanted to stop by and give you those,” Max said, motioning to the flowers.

“Thank you,” Liz said again, giving Max one goodbye kiss before he left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Julia gasped as they walked into the large ballroom. She’d heard this place was grand, but it was another thing entirely seeing it for herself. Andy was taking her to dinner at the Hotel del Coronado, one of the fanciest and most expensive hotels in town.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

“Uh…yeah,” Julia stated sarcastically, as if it was obvious.

“Only the best for you,” Andy smiled, looking down at her. She was absolutely gorgeous, and he was so glad to have her back. It was their first date since they’d broken up. Alex didn’t accept their relationship yet, but he accepted that Julia was old enough to make her own decisions, no matter how much he disapproved of them.

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing, really. I’m just glad to have you back.”

“Me too,” Julia nodded.

“Shall we?” Andy motioned towards the interior of the ballroom.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to miss our reservations, now would we?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So where are we going now?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Come on, you wouldn’t tell me about dinner, and so I was a good little girl and didn’t bug you about it, but now you’re going to keep this from me too.”

Max laughed. “Just humor me ok. It’s not too far. We’ll be there before you know it.”

Liz huffed, but sat back in her seat quietly. They’d had an amazing romantic dinner at a little Italian restaurant. Very quaint…perfect.

They drove in silence most of the way, Max grabbing onto Liz’s hand between shifts. She looked beautiful in her short red dress, her hair piled up on her head in a mass of curls. How she always seemed capable of looking perfectly amazing, he’d never know.

He pulled into a parking lot and stopped the car. Liz looked around, not realizing where they were. With a questioning glance, she looked back to Max who just smiled and got out of the car. Walking around to the other side, he opened the door for Liz, helping her out, before making a simple request.

“Close your eyes,” Max whispered.

“Why?” Liz asked curiously.

“Cause it’s a surprise. I’m not quite ready to show you yet.”

At the boyish grin on his face, Liz couldn’t help but concede. She rolled her eyes, but closed them just the same. Once they were closed, Max opened the trunk of his car, grabbing a blanket and paper grocery bag. Holding them in one arm, he grabbed Liz’s had with his free one, and started walking her in their destination.

“Alright, there’s a step up, right here,” Max said, guiding her while her eyes were still closed.

A heavy breeze whipped across Liz’s face and she smelt salt in the air. Walking a little further, Max mentioned a change in footing, and Liz felt her feet sinking into a soft substance with each new step…sand? Opening her ears, Liz heard the sound of waves crashing against the shore, confirming her earlier suspicions.

“We’re at the beach?” Liz asked, although it was more of a statement then a question.

Max smiled. “Guess I can’t keep anything from you. You can open your eyes now then.”

When Liz opened her eyes, she saw the contents of Max’s arm on the ground behind where he stood in front of her.”

“Do you recognize where we are?” Max asked.

“We’re at the beach?” Liz asked, confused. Hadn’t she just said that?

“Well yes,” Max conceded. “But this is where we had our first kiss. Remember?”

“Oh, yes. How could I forget? It was a great night,” Liz smiled, putting her arms around Max’s neck. At the moment she just couldn’t not touch him.

“I’m glad you thought so too,” Max said, kissing Liz like he had that night, like he may never get to feel her lips again. Leaning his forehead against hers when they were done, he whispered breathily, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Liz smiled, brought back to the night they had first met.

Max smiled, and without a word, slowly dropped to one knee in front of the love of his life.

It took Liz a few moments to register what was happening, but once he was kneeling before her and had taken her hands in his, she gasped, bringing one of her hands up to her mouth in shock. “Oh my god!”

“Liz, I’ve loved I think from the moment I first met you,” Max started. “Your amazing, beautiful, smart, sweet, funny, caring and a thousand other qualities I couldn’t begin to describe. I love you more than anything, and knowing that you could love be back with just a fraction of that is more than I could have ever dreamed of.” Taking a deep breath, Max plunged on, “I love you Liz Parker. Will you marry me?”

It was then that Max pulled out the jewelry box she didn’t know he was hiding, opening it up to show off the ring he’d picked out for her. Liz gasped again when she saw the beautiful ring he held in his hands, tears now stinging her eyes.

Liz’s eyes moved back up to his face, seeing the hopeful expression there. Smiling, Liz willed her voice to work as she replied. “Yes, Max. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

Laughing, bursting with happiness, Max stood up quickly, picking up Liz and twirling her in the air. He was so happy, he could hardly breathe. Putting her down, Max pulled the ring out of the box with shaky hands, slipping it onto the finger he’d imagined it on since the moment he bought it.

Cupping her face in his hands, he smiled, his eyes looking deeply into hers. “You’ve just made the happiest day of my life.”

“Ditto,” Liz said, before they kissed, reveling in their love and the new found promises they’d made to one another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello.”

“How hard is it to pick up the phone and call your mother?”

“Hi mom,” Alex smiled. “I’ve been meaning to call…really I have.”

“Sure. That’s what you always say,” Clara kidded. “I just wanted to say hi and see how everything was going. How are classes?”

“They’re alright. Starting to get into midterms and papers and stuff, so it’s starting to get busy, but not too bad.”

“Alright, what’s wrong?” Clara just knew there was something. Alex just wasn’t being his normal perky, optimistic, joking self.

“What? Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me Alex Whitman. I’m your mother. I can tell these things.”

“I’m fine mom, really. I’m just tired.”

“Alright, well how’s your sister doing? She’s almost halfway through the quarter now, isn’t she?”

“She’s alright, I guess. Yeah, I think she’s about done with midterms,” he said, purposely leaving out the part where he and Julia hadn’t been talking for nearly a month cause he didn’t approve of her boyfriend.

“Well that’s good. Next time you see her tell her to call her mother too. Honestly, the two of you go off to college and think you can just forget about us,” Clara exaggerated. “Oh, how is Isabel doing? Gosh, I haven’t talked to you in so long I feel like I’m missing everything.”

‘If you only knew,’ Alex thought. “Um, Isabel and I aren’t together anymore mom. We broke up.”

“What? Why?” To say that Clara was surprised would have been an understatement. She knew how much Isabel had meant to her son, and she couldn’t think of anything that would have broken them up. ‘Well that explains his sour mood,’ Clara thought to herself.

“A lot of reasons,” Alex lied. “Basically there was something we just couldn’t agree on.”

“Something you couldn’t agree on? It’s gotta be more than that. I mean really, Alex. You two were dating for so long. I know you cared about her a lot…”

“Mom, I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Okay honey. But I’m sure if it was just a disagreement you could work something out. I mean, I don’t want you to ruin this over some silly argument.”

“Mom…”

[1]“Alright, alright. I’m stopping. I need to finish dinner anyway. Your father will be home soon and your sisters are already complaining that they’re starving,”[/i] Clara said, over enunciating the last word.

“Alright,” Alex laughed. “Bye mom.”

“Bye sweetie. Tell your sister to call me. I haven’t heard from her in forever either.”

“Okay. Bye mom. I love you.”

“I love you too sweetheart.”

Getting off the phone with his mom, Alex sighed. Well, her words had the desired effect and now Alex couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d been trying to forget over the last few weeks…Isabel. To tell the truth, he’d been thinking about Isabel a lot lately, especially since fixing his relationship with his sister. He hated to admit it, but he missed her…a lot.

It was true what his mother said. She had meant everything to him. And maybe it was a little foolish to let some argument get between them. In a way, wasn’t that letting Andrew win? Did he really want Andrew to come between his relationship with Isabel?

Alex snorted. “Kinda too late for that, isn’t it?” he said into the empty room.

But it was more than that, at least, that’s what he wanted to believe. And it was, it was a hard thing to forgive. For Isabel to go against him and support Andrew and Julia’s relationship… Frankly, it had hurt. He’d wanted to believe that she’d be behind him, support him.

But now that he’d made peace with Julia, and although not accepted, at least conceded that Julia had her own right to make decisions where Andrew was concerned, he was starting to think that maybe he’d made a mistake where Isabel was concerned. Ok…he knew he’d made a mistake, he just hated admitting that he was wrong. Now he just had to figure out what he was going to do about it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmmm…why didn’t we do this sooner?” Maria mumbled sleepily, snuggling farther into Michael’s side, her bare leg draped across his.

Michael laughed. “I don’t know. Maybe since we had a baby the first time, it made us a little more aware of the consequences.”

“Mmmm,” Maria sighed, eyes still closed. Her hand rubbed unconsciously up and down Michael’s chest, causing shivers to run up and down his body.

Looking down and seeing the ring on her finger brought a smile to his face. He still had trouble believing she was his. Gosh, they were going to get married. She was going to marry him. He often had a hard time believing he could be so lucky.

“I love you,” Michael whispered, kissing the top of Maria’s head where it rested on his shoulder.

Maria sighed, but said nothing. She was already asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“No, I really really have to go study,” Courtney said, trying to pull out of her boyfriend’s arms.

“Ohhh, why?” Justin complained. “I like it when you’re here,” he mumbled as he placed wet, open-mouthed kisses down her neck.

“Me too,” Courtney said, melting into his embrace. It was amazing the affect he had on her. He moved his mouth up to meet hers and kissed her passionately. Courtney was more than willing to return the sentiment, wrapping her arms around his neck and running fingers through his hair while deepening the kiss.

Pulling apart, Courtney jumped off his lap before he could get a hold on her again. Panting slightly, “I really have to go home now. I have a midterm tomorrow,” she explained, running around the room to gather up her stuff.

“Fine,” Justin huffed, pouting from where he sat on the couch.

Smiling to herself at her boyfriends childish behavior, Courtney came up to him, having just put on her shoes and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. “You know I love being with you, but I’m not gonna let you mess up my grades.” At the still sour look on his face, she continued, “Look, we’ll go out tomorrow night, okay?”

“Okay,” he mumbled.

Courtney laughed. Poor baby, doesn’t get to make out with his girlfriend anymore. “Goodnight sweetheart,” she said with one last goodbye kiss. “Sweet dreams,” she added as she made her way towards the door.

“You know what would make my dreams sweeter?” Justin asked, a smirk on his face.

“Ha ha. You really think I would go for that one?” she asked skeptically. “I’ll call you later. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Justin said, watching his girlfriend walk out the door of his apartment. Man he loved that girl.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Alright, let me see if I got this right. You still love Isabel. You miss her. You realize you’ve made a mistake, and that you’ve been a complete idiot. And you want to try and work things out?”

“Uh huh…”

“Then what the hells the problem here? Why haven’t you talked to her yet?” Liz asked, incredulously.

“I don’t know,” Alex answered sheepishly.

“You don’t know? Look that’s not a very good excuse buddy.”

“Hey. Leave me alone. You’re supposed to be helping me here.”

“Look, you want my advice. Talk to her. I know Isabel still loves you and she doesn’t blame you for anything, even though she has every right to…no offense.”

“None taken.”

“Trust me Alex. You hurt her, but she’s gonna welcome you back with open arms. She loves you, and I think she’s willing to overlook your stupidity.”

“Gee thanks. That makes me feel a lot better.”

“Hey, you said it yourself.”

“I know. It’s just…hard…”

“Look Alex, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. But if this is really what you want, which from what you’re telling me it is, the only one stopping you is you.”

Liz let that sink in awhile before breaking the silence. “Look, I got to go. Max is going to be by in a little bit to pick me up. Think about what I said.”

“I will. Oh, and congratulations on the engagement. I don’t think I’ve said that yet.”

“Thanks,” Liz smiled, playing with the ring on her finger unconsciously. How did she ever get to be this happy?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, did you tell your parents yet?”

“Are you kidding me? When I came home and Tess saw the ring, she wouldn’t let me leave the room without calling mom,” Liz exclaimed. Liz unconsciously played with the ring again, twirling it around her finger. She couldn’t help it; every time someone mentioned it or her being engaged her attentions would be brought back to the ring, and how surreal the situation seemed.

Max laughed. “So what did they say?” he asked, drawing circles on Liz’s stomach from where she lay with her head on his lap.

“They were happy for me. Oddly, dad wasn’t all that surprised,” Liz commented, looking at Max expectantly.

“I think with all the talks we had, your dad realized how much you meant to me. It was only a matter of time.”

Liz nodded her head in understanding. “Well, it surprised me.”

“But a good surprise.”

“Yes, a great surprise,” Liz smiled, leaning up to kiss her fiancé. Ooooohh, she liked the sound of that…fiancé. It sent tingles to her spine, reminding her of just how lucky she was.

They kissed tenderly, lovingly, relishing in just having this moment together. Liz lay her head back down on Max’s lap when they there finished, as Max gently ran his fingers through her long flowing hair.

“You know, I was thinking. We haven’t really talked about what we’re gonna do?”

“Do?” Max asked, not sure what she was referring to.

“You know, after we’re married. You’re still thinking about going to medical school, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I was thinking that we’d look together, ya know. Find a good medical school that’s at least close to somewhere that has a good molecular bio program so you can go to grad school.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?” Liz asked, sitting up.

“Thought is an understatement. Worry, fret, and agonize is more like it.”

“Awww, baby. Why?” Liz’s brow furrowed, wondering why this would have caused him so much anguish.

“I was just worried that by marrying me you’d have to put your life on hold. I didn’t want you to feel like I was holding you back. But Maria helped me to realize that marriage was a compromise and that if we really loved each other we’d work it out together.”

“Ahhh…so that’s why she already knew you were going to propose,” Liz said in understanding.

“Well that and cause Michael went with me to pick out the ring and someone can’t keep his big mouth shut.”

Liz laughed, just seeing the situation now: Max getting mad at Michael for telling Maria, which Michael would obviously do, when he was already going to tell her himself. She just hoped the Max wasn’t too hard on his friend.

“Alright, well lets talk about this,” Liz stated definitively. “Have you looked into med schools yet.”

“Not yet. But I was thinking about it,” Max said, smiling encouragingly. He tightened his grip around Liz’s waist, pulling her more into his side.

“Alright, well while you do that, I’ll work on looking into grad schools I want to go to and then we can compare, see what’s most feasible.”

“Sounds good to me,” Max smiled. “When do you want to get married?”

“I don’t know…I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

“Here we are talking about our future and we haven’t set a date,” Max laughed.

“Yea…but this is important. We can think about that later. What about a place to live?”

“Well, I’d love to live in a house, if that’s alright with you. I’m not too big on the apartment idea.”

“Mmmm…that sounds nice. I’ve always wanted a house…I’m so tired of living in this little apartment,” Liz laughed. “Lets see…what else.”

“Family?”

“Oh…I…well, not until we graduate at least. I’m not ready to be Michael and Maria yet.”

“I was actually thinking, as much as I want to have a family with you, that it would be better if we waited until I was done with school, if that’s okay with you. I know that’s a lot of time, but I really want to be able to spend time with my kids, ya know?”

“I can understand that,” Liz said. She was a little disappointed, cause who knew how long it would be before he was done with school, but at the same time she wanted Max to be able to be around for their kids. Well, she knew there was going to have to be compromises.

“Anyway, we don’t have to make any decisions now. Just throwing stuff out there. Um…I was also thinking about...well…us and where are relationship is heading…”

“Uh huh,” Liz said, not sure where he was going with this.

“I was thinking that maybe it would be good to wait, ya know, until after we get married to…make love.” He said the last part somewhat quietly, like he wasn’t quite sure how to bring this up.

Liz thought about it for a moment. They’d been kind of at a steady place in their relationship, neither one bringing up going further until Max proposed. On the one hand, there was something sweet and romantic about waiting till their wedding night. But at the same time, oh how it was going to be hard to keep her hands off of him. But then…

“I guess we better not have too long of an engagement then should we?” Liz laughed.

Max smiled. “I love you,” he said, kissing her.

“Well, I would hope so. Since you are marrying me,” Liz laughed, kissing him back. The rest of this discussion could wait till later…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Mmmm…Kyle…that feels so good,” Tess said, as Kyle kissed down her neck, lingering on her collar bone where her shirt was unbuttoned halfway down. Moving back up to her mouth, Kyle kissed her hard, hungrily, like he hadn’t had a taste of her in years.

Grabbing her hips, Kyle pulled her closer to him, bringer her body completely flush with his. His hands roamed her body as they kissed, never able to get enough of the feel of her pressed against him.

Becoming bolder, Tess started to move against him, grinding her lower body in time with his kisses. Kyle groaned deep into her mouth at the sensation. Taking this as a good sign, Tess increased the pressure, trying to assuage the ache she knew they both were fighting.

Pulling back, Kyle gasped. “Okay, need to slow down…”

“Uh uh,” Tess protested, crushing her lips to his once again and continuing the assault on his senses.

“No, seriously Tess,” Kyle broke them apart. “I have a lot of self control,” he gasped, taking a deep breath, “but not that much.”

Tess exhaled, trying to release some of the sexual tension she felt with each breath. Surveying the situation, she tried to remember how things had gotten to where they were. All she could remember was that she hadn’t wanted to stop, and had been prepared to forget everything she’d told herself, and go further then she’d ever let them go before.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

February 24, 2003

Dear Carolyn,
It’s been a long time since I wrote, so I figure it’s about time I update you. Your uncle Max and aunt Lizzie are now engaged, just like your mommy and me. We’re all gonna make one big happy family soon. Even though your mother and I haven’t set a date yet, we can’t wait to get married. It’s been kinda hard lately, what with school, and studying along with raising our amazing daughter, it makes it hard to get time to ourselves, but we’re managing.
Uncle Kyle had been great, he loves you so much. He helps out a lot, which takes some of the strain off of us. He’s a great guy, and I’m sure he’s going to spoil you to pieces when you get older.
I can’t wait till we can become a complete family. You’re getting so big so fast. You’re crawling almost faster then we can run after you now. I’m so afraid the times just going to pass us by, and you’ll be all grown up before we know it.
Anyway, I guess daddy should stop procrastinating and get back to his homework. I love you baby.

Love always and forever,
Your father
Michael Geurin

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Lizzie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure Tess. What is it?” Liz asked, putting down her book to give her daughter her full attention.

“It’s about sex.”

Liz’s eyes went wide for a second, not at all prepared for that. She thought it was going to be about homework or school or something. “Are you and Kyle…”

“No…” Tess started.

‘Thank god,’ Liz thought.

“…yet,” Tess finished.

“Is Kyle pressuring you or something?”

“No,” Tess rebuffed that quickly. “I’ve just been…feeling…that I want something more.”

“Feeling? You know Tess, you need to make a distinction between your hormones and…”

“No. Liz, listen. I love Kyle. And this isn’t just hormones alright. My heart…I think I’m ready for something more. And I just wanted some advice.”

“Well Tessie, I’m glad that you came to me with this, but I don’t really know how much I can help. I mean, Max and I never…”

“You and Max never slept together?” Tess interrupted, surprised.

“Did I ever tell you that we did?”

“No, but I just figured you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“We decided to wait until we get married. So, really, as much as I love that you came to me for this, you should probably talk to Maria.”

“Yeah, ok,” Tess said. “Wow, I can’t believe that after all this time you guys still haven’t...”

“That’s enough Tessie. And do me a favor, when you and Kyle do decide to take that next step…I don’t need to know all the details.”

Tess laughed. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Have you talked to Kyle about this?” Maria asked calmly.

“No. I wanted to make a decision on where I stood first before I brought it up to him.”

“Fair enough. Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s great being intimate with someone you love, but I’m a firm believer in understanding the consequences,” Maria smiled sardonically. “So first things first, if you decide to have sex, make sure you stay safe. And make sure this is what you really want, that you’re sure you’re ready for it.”

“Well that’s it. I’m pretty sure I’m ready.”

“Then I think you’re best bet is to just talk with Kyle. Have an open, honest discussion about your sex life and each other’s past. Make sure you know how each other feel about the subject. If you can do that and both come out feeling that you’re ready for this, then you probably are. If you can’t, then you’re not.”

“Thanks,” Tess said, smiling at Maria. “You were a lot better help then Liz.”

“Well, I try,” Maria laughed.

When she left Maria’s house, Tess felt much better about where she stood and had decided it was time to have that open conversation with Kyle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So why do you want to change your major?”

“I’ve decided that I want to go pre-med, so I wanted to adjust my coursework and major accordingly.”

“Well Max, you’re a great student, but it might be tough to change this late in your career. You have a lot of the requirements taken care of, but you might have to load up with a few extra courses next year. You think you can handle that?”

“I don’t think that’ll be too much of a problem. And I plan to take summer school to help with that.”

“Alright then Max, I think you’re all set. You’ve got all the paperwork, so as soon as you get that done it’ll go through the school approval process. I don’t think they’ll be any problem with that. Have you started looking into medical schools yet?”

“Just barely. I’m not quite sure where to start.”

“Well here’s a catalogue you can look at. This hopefully will help a little,” the advisor said, handing Max the book. “I can have one mailed to you if you like.”

“Yes please. That would be great. Thank you.”

“Alright Max. Do you have any other questions?”

“No. Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”

“No problem. Keep me updated on anything you need anymore help with.”

“I will.” Max smiled as he left the advisor’s office, well on the way to planning out his future. One that was going to include his beautiful fiancé. He couldn’t wait!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I’ll be out in a second. Just make yourself at home,” Justin called from his bedroom.

“Don’t I always,” Courtney said to herself. Walking around the apartment, she started ruffling through the unkempt stack of mail on his kitchen table. Just like a guy, always leaving a mess. “Bills…bills…junk…” Courtney mumbled to herself. “What’s this?”

“Justin,” Courtney called, having determined that the piece of paper was in fact what she thought it was.

“Yea sweetie,” Justin came up behind her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“This is your statement of intent to graduate. Shouldn’t you have turned that it already?”

“Eh, I was going to mail it tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Courtney said unsurely. “But don’t forget, cause they’re due by the end of the week.”

“I won’t. Now come on, you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Say we haven’t talked about it much. What are you planning to do after graduation?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Justin, May isn’t that far away. You don’t have forever you know.”

“I know.”

“Then what do you want to do. Go to grad school? Or are you just gonna try and find a job right out of school? Are you gonna stay here or what?”

“Hey just leave it be alright. That’s my business,” Justin replied shortly, sounding irritated.

“Alright. Fine,” Courtney said, letting it go for now. For some reason though, she had a feeling this wasn’t over.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Kyle, do you think we’re ready for sex?”

“Whoa, where did that come from?” Kyle asked, taken aback. They had just been sitting on the couch, curled up cozily watching a movie.

“It’s just something that I’ve been thinking about, and I think that we need to have an open conversation about this before we even consider taking that step. So, do you think we’re ready to have sex?”

“Well what do you think?” Kyle countered. He wanted to hear her opinion first, so as not to make her feel obliged to do anything she didn’t want to.

“I asked you first.”

‘Fair enough,’ Kyle thought. Choosing his words carefully, Kyle answered, “I think that I’m ready. And our relationship as a whole I think is at that point where it’s ready. But you’re the only one who can tell whether you’re ready. Apart from ‘us’ being ready, it’s also individual. Are you ready?”

Kyle held his breath, waiting for her answer. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but he guessed that having this conversation was getting his hopes up. As much as he was happy and perfectly fine with where their relationship was now, he longed to show her how deeply he felt for her, in a way that only intimacy could bring. Plus it was getting harder and harder to control himself when he was around her, he wouldn’t mind having at least the possibility of going that step further. But he was still determined to wait for her, however long that took.

“I don’t know, but I think I am. I just wanted to hear your opinion on the subject.”

“Tess, I love you,” Kyle said, punctuating his statement with a kiss. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready. But I don’t want you to feel pressured. We’re not doing anything until you’re sure this is what you want.”

Tess nodded, snuggling closer into his side. Where did she find him? He was so patient with her…she couldn’t ask for anything more.

“Kyle, can I ask you something else?”

“Of course you can.”

“How many girls have you slept with?”

Kyle stiffened a little. “Why do you want to know?”

“Cause I think it’s important we understand where each of us is coming from. I mean, you know that I’m a virgin, and I know your not, but what I don’t know is how far that experience goes.”

She looked up at him with her innocent, doe eyes, and in that moment, Kyle wished more than anything that he had saved himself for her.

“I can understand that,” Kyle said with a sigh. “Three,” he answered, trying to gauge her reaction.

Tess just stared back at him, her face unchanging. ‘Maybe she wasn’t really bothered by this. Maybe she was just curious,’ he thought.

When Tess had come in here, she decided she wasn’t going to dwell on anything he said. Just get the facts, and then she could mull over them later. So she let his answer just wash over her, and asked the next question that came to mind.

“Did you love them?”

“It depends on your definition of love. I thought I did, at the time…but none of that even compares how much I love you.”

“How do you know this is different?”

“Cause you’re the first person I’ve ever felt this strongly about. The first person I could actually see myself spending the rest of my life with. The only person I’ve ever been with where I can sit there and say, ‘She’s the one for me. There can’t be anyone else.’”

Tess nodded, touched by his words. It was silent for a few minutes between then, before another burning question popped into Tess’s mind. “Were they pretty?”

“Why do you need to know that?”

“I’m just curious.”

“Well yes, they were. I don’t often make it a point to go out with girls I’m not attracted to. But none of them hold a candle to you. You’re beautiful, amazing, magnificent…”

“You don’t have to try and placate me you know,” she interrupted him.

“I’m afraid that you’re not going to like the answers I’m giving you, so I just wanted to reiterate how much you mean to me. You’re different Tess, not like any girl I’ve ever dated before. So don’t try and compare yourself to those other girls. They meant nothing compared to you.”

Tess nodded, leaning against him. “I’m still thinking,” she said, referring to whether or not she was indeed ‘ready’.

“There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere.”

Tess nodded again, remaining silent.

“You okay,” Kyle asked, after a moment of her not saying anything.

“Yeah, just thinking. Let’s finish watching the movie.”

Kyle agreed, turning back on the movie he’d turned off at the start of their conversation. He hugged her to him tightly, tying to convey how much he loved her through their embrace, as they silently watched the glow from the tv screen, neither paying much attention as they each got lost in their own thoughts.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael and Maria burst into the room a bundle of joy and happiness. “Alright, girls you’re with me. Guys, you’re with Michael. Let’s go.”

“What? Go where?” Liz asked, nevertheless getting up off the couch where everyone was gathered.

“Yeah, would you mind telling us why you called us all here,” Justin asked sleepily. Apparently, 9 am on a Saturday morning was too early for him to get up.

“Why shopping of course,” Maria said, answering Liz’s question. “We’re getting married in two weeks,” she finished, grabbing Michael’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“You’re what!?!” Courtney burst out.

“We’re getting married in two weeks, so we have a lot to do. Now come on,” Maria indicated to the girls to follow her.

Once they’d left, Max turned to Michael. “So when did you decide this?”

“Last night. You know how we like to do things spur of the moment. And man, do you have any idea how long it took me to talk her down from getting eloped in Vegas? Our mothers would never stand that.”

Max laughed as the guys made their way out to Max’s car, Maria having already taken Michaels, to go get started on the wedding preparations.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*